Kicks and Chicks
by fanficwiz
Summary: Rose is an avid soccer player who dreams of going pro with it when she is older. Unfortunately, she had suffered an injury and fell two years behind her fellow team mates. What happens when Mr. Belikov, Rose's English teacher, and now soccer coach offers her to help catch up? Includes lots of humor, romance, and adventure. Will contain lemons in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I just thought up this idea tonight. And review! Constructive criticism, ideas, ... and basically anything is appreciated. I am wondering if I will be able to make a full story out of this.**

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**Chapter 1**

Shit. It was only the first practice of the year and I was already running late.

It wasn't my fault exactly. Everything had been going smoothly until Camille Conta, the school bitch, decided to "accidently" spill her water all over Lissa's notes during my last class and worst class of the day, math. Lissa looked like she was about to cry. So I did what any sensible person would have done in the same situation. I punched Camille in the nose. Not hard enough to break it, but with enough force that Camille would surely be feeling it for the few weeks. "Take that bitch!" I had screamed.

Camille of course ran off crying, acting like she was the only victim. I hated her. Mr. Alto, the math teacher, sent me directly to principal Kirova's office, after giving me the same old lecture about controlling my anger. Whatever. I had been sitting in Kirova's office for at least ten minutes before she finally showed up with an exasperated look on her face. "You again?!" She had demanded. "In this circumstance I would normally punish you with detention. Considering you have already been sentenced to detention for the entire month, I am left with no option but to put you under house-arrest for the next week."

"No! Please don't! Can you at least let me go to soccer still?" I had pleaded. I had been forced to take the last two years off of soccer due to a torn ACL ligament. The doctor had finally given me the "ok" to play the game that I loved so much. My dream is to someday represent the United States at the Olympics, although a soccer scholarship would be just as amazing considering I didn't have a college fund.

"Very well Miss Hathaway. You may go to soccer, but if I catch you breaking your house arrest at any point this week, I will not allow you to join the soccer team for this season."

I had still been angry about the house arrest, but decided to take what I could. As I got up to leave, I realized it was already 4:00 PM. The first soccer practice of the season was staring at that moment. Shit.

I ran towards the change room and threw on my soccer clothes as quickly as I could. By the time I made it out to the field, Alberta Petrov was running a drill.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," I exclaimed to Miss Petrov, the soccer coach. "It won't happen again!"

"It better not Rose." Alberta replied. "The rest of the girls have already paired off, and all of the drills that we will be running will be in partners today. I supposed that Mr. Belikov, our assistant coach for this year, can be your partner for the day."

Mr. Belikov knew how to play soccer? I always thought of him as my lame English teacher who had no life outside of the weird western novels that he always seemed to read.

As Mr. Belikov stepped towards me, my breath caught. He wore his hair in the same style as always, but instead of the long duster that he normally wore, he was wearing a tank top. Boy, did he ever look good in it. I had no idea how muscular he was. His body is perfection.

"Ready to go Rose?" Asked Mr. Belikov.

"Of course I am." I replied. "The question is, are you ready to get your ass kicked?"

"Language!" Exclaimed Alberta. Mr. Belikov didn't crack a smile, but his eyes gave him away. He was amused.

Since I had shown up late to practice, I had missed the team warm up. Mr. Belikov made me run five laps around the field before doing anything else.

"Five laps?" I demanded. "I'm going to miss almost everything that the rest of the team works on!" I groaned.

"Think about that next time you decide to show up 15 minutes late for practice. Come on, I'll run with you," Said Mr. Belikov.

I decided to take the opportunity to get a head start on him while he was tying up his cleats.

"You'll never catch me!" I yelled playfully.

Mr. Belikov smirked at me, and continued tying up his shoe looking unconcerned.

I continued running at a fairly fast pace. I had only made it around the field once, and my lungs were already burning. "Dammit," I muttered to myself. I can't believe how out of shape I am. Before I injured my knee, I could have run circles around any one of the other girls on this team. I'm not so sure if this is the case anymore.

I must have zoned out, because the next thing I knew, Dimitri was by my side.

"How did you catch up to me so quickly?" I asked. I had made it three quarters of the way around the field before Dimitri had even begun to run and I was presently running my second lap.

"Lots of training," Replied Mr. Belikov. He slowed to keep up with my pace, which annoyed me. People don't slow for me, I slow for them! I tried picking up my pace, but found my legs burning with protest. I simply couldn't go any faster.

"You're out of shape Rose." Stated Mr. Belikov.

"You… think… I… don't…. know…that," I managed between breaths.

"If you ever want to get a scholarship, as I have been told you do, you are going to need to do a lot of training. The competition for scholarships is fierce."

"I know that," I replied, catching my breath a little for the moment. "It's just not fair. Getting so far behind everyone wasn't even my fault." I complained.

"Quit complaining!" Exclaimed Mr. Belikov. "If you are actually serious about getting better, and playing seriously, I can help you." Said Mr. Belikov. "But we will have to train before school."

"Before school?" I demanded. But that's so early in the morning! Haven't you ever heard of something called sleep?"

"Rose, it would make no sense to train at any other time considering the team already practices three times a week after school, and plays games on weekends."

I guess his reasoning made sense, but I still wasn't very happy about it.

"Rose, do you want to play soccer professionally? Or at a university level? I can assure you that you never will if you don't truly dedicate yourself to the game." Said Mr. Belikov.

"Of course I want to. I will train with you Belikov. But what do you know about soccer?"

My question was answered when we finished running laps, and began doing drills. At the moment, we were chipping the ball back and forth. (For those of you who don't know, chipping is a form of kicking that elevates the ball and gives it back spin). My chips kept rolling off my toe, and the ball was barely making it off the ground. Mr. Belikov's kicks on the other hand were flawless. Every single chip landed directly on my foot.

"How the hell do you keep doing that?" I yelled.

"Practice," was all he replied.

After ten more minutes of pathetically chipping the ball, the team was divided in half and told to scrimmage.

"Shoot, I forgot the pinnies." Complained Alberta.

"That's not a big deal, didn't we normally play shirts vs. sport bras last year anyways?" Asked Meredith, the team captain. Only the temporary captain if I have anything to do with it though. This team was mine, and it will be mine once more. "Besides, it's too hot out. I'd love to be on the shirtless team." Continued Meredith. I could have sworn she was looking at Mr. Belikov with that last comment. In fact, all of the girls were dreamily staring at Mr. Belikov. It was obvious though that he didn't notice.

"Meredith, that seems highly inappropriate with Mr. Belikov here." Replied Alberta.

"I really don't think Mr. Belikov would mind," stated Mia Rinaldi, my former nemesis. Somehow we had become friends, but I don't think our friendship is going to last very long if she keeps staring at Belikov like that. Wait, why am I mad at her for staring?

"Very well girls," sighed Alberta in defeat. The only reason she agreed to it was because she wanted to ensure that there was no confusion between the two teams during the scrimmage.

I was on the shirtless team. I have to admit that I look really good in a bra. My abs aren't nearly as toned as they used to be, but my stomach is still perfectly flat. I also have a much larger chest than any of the other ultra-thin girls on this team. My neon pink sports bra did wonders for my tanned skin and dark hair. 'Stop it Rose,' I scolded to myself. Focus on soccer.

Unfortunately I was on Meredith's team, and both of us wanted to play the position of center mid-fielder. Being the captain, Meredith got her way, and I had to play on the right side of the field.

After scrimmaging for 15 minutes, it had become clear that I was no longer the best on the team. Admittedly, Meredith was really good. She had already scored once, and set up our striker, Carly, for a goal. As for me, I misjudged a play and got beaten to the ball by Mia Rinaldi, who promptly flew past me and nearly scored. This is a disaster I thought to myself.

After a few more minutes, Alberta called us all in and told us that the practice was finished.

"Good job on the first day back girls. I really appreciate those of you who have clearly been training throughout the summer to keep in shape. By the end of this week, I will not work on conditioning anymore. It will be up to you to make sure that you're running is up to par. If it's not, then don't expect to see very much playing time. A lot of you are very talented players, and I truly believe that we have a chance of qualifying for nationals this year. If you are slacking off or missing practice, don't expect to stay on this team for very long." With that, Alberta turned around and left. So much for ending on a positive note. I turned and noticed that Mr. Belikov was still here which surprised me. When he noticed me looking, he smiled and walked over to me.

"Good job today Rose. I look forward to training with you." Said Mr. Belikov.

"Are you kidding me? That was terrible! All my life, I have wanted nothing more than to have fun playing soccer. That wasn't even fun! It was just embarrassing. God, I'm so stupid for of thinking that I could just waltz right in and be the best again…" I trailed off. At some point, tears started running down my face.

Mr. Belikov looked at me with concern. "Let's go inside Rose."

Trying my best to not break out crying, I nodded and walked inside with Dimitri.

"Rose, it's only your first day back. Don't feel so disheartened. You have so much potential. You are going to be amazing someday." Said Mr. Belikov.

"Do you really think so?" I asked. My voice was cracking from nearly crying.

"I know so. Come on, let me get you back to your room."

Mr. Belikov and I walked in silence. I couldn't help but notice the way that he would sometimes steal a glance at me, and the way that our arms would occasionally brush together as we walked together. My arms burned where we touched.

When we made it back to my room, Dimitri said goodbye and I closed the door behind me. I broke out into tears immediately. My future is ruined. I'm never going to get a scholarship which means I'm probably never going to collage! What am I going to do with my life?

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. I decided to ignore it. The knocking continued.

"Rose, I know you're in there." Shit. It was Mr. Belikov. I inspected myself in the mirror and I looked like crap. I wiped my eyes, and hoped he wouldn't notice that I had broken down again.

I opened the door for him. "Hi again. I'm sorry, I forgot to set up a practice schedule with you. I was wondering if –" He stopped talking when he looked up at my face.

"Roza…" he sighed. With him looking at me with his dark brown eyes, full of pity, I couldn't help but cry again.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I really don't cry normally." I moaned.

"Don't apologize. I just wish I could make you feel better."

"I wish you could also," I replied.

When it became clear that I wasn't going to stop crying anytime soon, he walked into my room and sat down with me on my bed. He reached out and removed a strand of hair that was covering my face and tucked it behind my ear. He quickly removed his hand, seeming to not believe what he had just done. We sat there like that for another ten minutes until I had cried myself dry.

"Thanks for being with me Mr. Belikov. I really appreciate it." I told him sincerely. Against my better judgment, I reached out and hugged him. He immediately stiffened up.

"I'm sorry," I told him as I pulled back.

"No, it's ok Rose. I should be going though. Meet me on the field tomorrow at 7:00 AM. And don't be late."

I nodded. "Ok, I'll see you tomorrow Mr. Belikov."

"You can call me Dimitri," He said, right before leaving.

I found myself smiling. Dimitri had made me feel a lot better.

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**I hope you like it so far!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the support guys! The reviews are awesome. One reviewer informed me that this story closely resembled one called Slide to the left, Slide to the right. I've never heard of it before, and will refrain from reading it to ensure that my ideas are truly my own. **

**Also, I don't think I ever use direct quotes, but some of the lines in this chapter are based off of ones from Vampire Academy.**

**I hope you like this chapter.**

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**Chapter 2**

As much as I wanted to just roll over and go to sleep after crying so much, I found my feet dragging me to the cafeteria. I had a monstrous appetite. It was a wonder that I didn't get fat. I loaded my tray with macaroni and cheese, and donuts. Not the healthiest post workout food, but I didn't care. I needed comfort food at the moment.

I took my food and walked over to my normal table. My friends Mason and Eddie were already there, but no one else was. I wonder where everyone is?

"Hathaway! Get over here!" shouted Mason. Mason has orange curly hair, and the most adorable grin.

"Oh Mason," I exclaimed as I arrived at the table, "I have been without you for a few hours, and you are already dreaming of me, aren't you?"

"Couldn't imagine dreaming of anyone else Rose," Replied Mason.

"Get a room you guys!" Demanded Eddie in a playful way. Eddie has blond, and curly hair. Overall, he was very good looking, but I had always thought of him as a brother.

"No need Eddo, we can behave," I replied mischievously.

Mason returned my smirk. It was as if we were partners in crime.

"I so don't want to be in the middle of this," Complained Eddie. "Thank god, I see Christian over there."

"I never thought anyone would every say thank god for Christian," I muttered. In reality, the two of us actually cared for each other. We were just far too similar and got on each other's nerves.

"Hey guys, have you seen Lissa?" Asked Christian.

"Nope," I replied. "Isn't she always with you."

"She is, but she went to her room to get changed before dinner and said that she would meet me here. She still hasn't shown up." Said Christian.

"I wouldn't worry. Knowing Lissa, she is deciding on just the right outfit to wear for this occasion," and I meant it. I worry about Lissa more than almost everyone else combined, but I wasn't particularly worried at this moment.

A few minutes later, Lissa walked in, and wow. She looked really good. Her blond hair was curled into waves that perfectly fell around the middle of her back. Her makeup looked flawless, and she was wearing a pink sundress that showed off her slim body. Lissa could really be a supermodel, but I love how she doesn't even realize it.

When Lissa got to our table, she gave Christian a pretty long kiss considering we were in public still. 'What's up?' I tried asking her with my eyes. She gave me a mischievous grin in response. I would have to talk to her about this later.

"How was soccer?" Asked Lissa. I groaned in response.

"Not the most attractive sound Hathway. It makes you sound like an old man." Smirked Christian.

I glared at him in response. "Not very good. I'm out of shape, and my skills aren't even up to par." I replied to Eddie shaking my head.

"So has your reign of terror on the soccer team finally come to a close Rosie?" Asked Christian.

"Shut up!" I swear I am going to punch that kid someday. Hell, I probably would have multiple times already if punching him wouldn't hurt Lissa in the process. Admittedly, Christian makes Lissa really happy, so I deal with him.

"How was your practice?" I asked towards Mason and Eddie. Eddie had been the captain of the team since sophomore year. Mason was also a pretty good player, but nowhere near as talented as Eddie.

"Not bad, but I don't think our team is going to be good enough to get anywhere," Sighed Eddie. "We have talented players, but we can't work together as a team. That ass Jesse Zeklos joined the team, and he is a huge ball hog. If only he would use his skills properly... It's just so frustrating!" Exclaimed Eddie. He cared about soccer just as much as I did, so I felt his pain. However, the mention of Jesse nearly brought a smile to my face. Admittedly, he seemed like a dick, but he was an attractive dick. I had my sight on him as being my next prospect. I didn't tell this to my friends though. Eddie would probably beat up Jesse if he ever found out that the two of us flirted.

"That really sucks Eddie, I hope it gets better. I know how much you care about the team. By the way, Dimitri offered to train with me in mornings to get my skills up. I agreed for some god unknown reason. I'm never going to get enough sleep."

"Who's Dimitri?" Asked Eddie.

"Oh, he's Mr. Belikov. Did you know that he is a freakishly good soccer player?" I asked.

"I had no clue," Replied Eddie.

At that moment, Dimitri himself walked into the cafeteria. I couldn't help but let my gaze wander towards him. He was back to wearing his normal clothes, but he looked different than he had before. I had never noticed those luscious and bottomless brown eyes before. How had I never really noticed him before? His gaze snapped towards me, as if he had sensed I was looking at him. I promptly looked away, feeling embarrassed. He is just my English teacher, I reminded myself. No need to get all caught up in him.

I didn't even notice when he walked towards me.

"Rose," Scolded Dimitri, "We are going to have to go over which foods are appropriate to eat during soccer season."

"Sorry, I just felt like comfort food." I replied. "It's not really your business anyways."

"It is my business Rose. If I am going to dedicate my time towards helping you, I have to know that you are dedicating your time towards soccer as well!" Replied Dimitri harshly as he walked away.

"Who knew Belikov was such a hard-ass?" Commented Mason.

I knew, I thought to myself. I could sense it in him. He cared about the game as much as I did. No one else could understand it. Most people just thought of it as something to do in their spare time, but for me; it was like a passion that exploded out of me. I could sense that same passion in Dimitri as well.

"I guess being yelled at like that is for my own good," I commented. "It doesn't mean I am going to stop supplementing my meals with donuts anytime soon though."

I couldn't help but look over my shoulder, and watch as Dimitri selected his dinner items. He picked up a plate of chicken stir fry as well as a carton of milk. Damn him.

I decided to get up and go back to my room for an early night. I waved goodbye to my friends, and slowly headed back. Today was one of the many times that I felt fortunate for having received no roommate. For whatever reason, there were a lot more boys than girls at this school, meaning that the girls dorms were half empty. Maybe it was because of the huge athletics focus, and boys were more into that than girls? I don't know. Either way, it was also a plus that there was a larger selection of guys to pick from, with less competition to get them. However, no one ever really competes for guys with me. The other girls are all too scared of what may happen if they do.

When I got to my room, I quickly got changed and went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my alarm screaming at 6 in the freaking morning. Soccer is probably the only thing in the world that can get me up at this time. I checked myself out in the mirror and looked like a mess. Normally I would just pull my hair up in a messy bun, and throw on whatever pair of gym shorts and top was closest to me, but today I felt the desire to look good. I straightened my hair and pulled it up into a high ponytail. I even put on some cover up and eye liner as well. I picked out a red workout tank top that hugged all of my curves, and threw on a pair black running shorts. They were pretty short shorts. Overall, I looked like a pretty sexy soccer player. At some point I must have realized that I had been admiring myself for too long because the next thing I knew, it was 6:50 A.M., and I still hadn't eaten anything. I grabbed my shin pads and cleats, and dashed towards the cafeteria to pick up a donut. But when I got there, I reconsidered and picked up a granola bar. By the time I got to the field, I was five minutes late, and still hadn't eaten my granola bar.

"You are late Rose," Sighed Dimitri without even turning around to look at me. He was curled up on the ground with a western novel. I can't help but notice how adorable his Russian accent is.

"Geez comrade, don't you ever get tired of those things?" I teased.

He looked slightly confused by what I had just called him, but shook it off and replied, "They're actually quite good. I recommend that you read one of them sometime. Go start running laps. Oh, I got you this, by the way." He handed me what looked like a watch. I was pretty confused.

"Put this on your wrist. It tracks the amount of footsteps and miles that you walk and run. Come back after running three miles. I don't expect you to take any longer than twenty-five minutes. Now go."

As I started running, it became apparent that I probably wasn't going to be able to run three miles that quickly. I was probably running at about a mile per ten minutes which wasn't good enough. My legs were still sore from yesterday on top of everything. I felt like I was dying, but I couldn't let myself stop. I couldn't let myself down, and I found that I couldn't let Dimitri down either. I want him to see me succeed. With the thought of Dimitri in mind, I pushed myself to run faster. I still didn't finish the laps on time, but I shaved a couple minutes off of what would have probably been my time if I hadn't picked up the pace. When I made it to Dimitri, I realized that I had forgotten to bring water. How could I be so stupid?

"Not bad Rose, I honestly didn't expect you to finish the laps on time, I just wanted to see how far I could push you. However, we will need to get you running a mile in five minutes or less if you want to be really good. Now that you have rested up, you can run some more. Only this time, I want you to alternate between sprints and light jogging. I will give you ten minutes to complete a mile of running like this."

"But I'm thirsty!" I complained.

"Then why didn't you drink while I was just talking to you?"

"I forgot my water," I replied sheepishly.

Dimitri sighed and looked towards his bottle. "Have some of mine Rose."

"Thank you!" I replied, and did my best not to chug all of his water in one sip.

After that, I began to run again. The sprints were killer. I could barely even move after having just run the three miles, never mind attempting to sprint.

"Rose, if you were dribbling the ball and heading towards the net like that, you would be caught by the defenders instantly. Run faster!" Yelled Dimitri.

I don't know where the energy came from, but I exploded forward for my next few sprints, and found that I had actually completed the mile in nine minutes. As I reached Dimitri, I found myself unable to think about anything but water.

"Go ahead Rose, finish the water." Said Dimitri.

"You're the best!" I exclaimed as I chugged the rest of it down. "Am I done running for the day? When are you going to work on skills with me?"

"Rose, you will be completely ineffective in a game if you can't run. Skills are useless if you can't even make it to the ball in the first place."

"So what are we doing for the rest of practice?" I asked.

The answer was that we would be doing muscular workouts. Dimitri demonstrated a couple of poses and exercises that would help strengthen my legs, core, and arms.

"You will be a much stronger runner with stronger muscles. " Explained Dimitri. "The most important thing is for you to ensure that you aren't rushing through the exercises, and that you are doing them properly. I expect you to do some of these exercises on your own on days that we don't train. When you get stronger, I would suggest using weights for more resistance."

"Yes Dimitri," I sighed. I was exhausted.

"You may as well keep going Rose. You are going to be sore tomorrow either way. You may as well continue working now while your muscles aren't screaming in pain."

"They are screaming in pain!" I yelled.

"Well they will hurt more tomorrow," Replied Dimitri with a smirk.

His logic sounded really similar to my weird round-about logic. It annoyed me.

"Just one more set of push ups and we will be done for the day," Said Dimitri. "I know you can do it."

Somehow, I managed to complete ten more push ups, and collapsed on the ground after the last one.

"Good job today Rose. There is no practice after school today, but I would recommend that you go jogging on your own anyways."

I groaned, and headed towards my bag to pack up my stuff. I slowly stripped off my shin pads and cleats.

"Hurry up Rose, you are going to be late for whatever your first period class is." Scolded Dimitri.

"I don't care. Most of my classes are useless anyways."

"Don't say that," Scolded Dimitri again. "You need good marks to go along with your soccer playing if you ever want to get anywhere. I would strongly suggest that you start putting more effort into your school work."

"Fine." I muttered. Who knew that my soccer coach would turn into my life advisor?

I slowly walked towards my dorm and took a cold shower. After getting dressed, I looked at my timetable and couldn't help but grin when I saw what class I had during first period today.

"You're late Rose," Complained Dimitri as I walked into his English class.

"It's your own fault for working me so hard this morning Dimitri," I replied.

"I'll work you hard anytime Rose," Commented Jesse from the back of the class.

"Mr. Zeklos," Warned Dimitri. "And it's Mr. Belikov for you in here Rose." Dimitri was still glaring at Jesse. I wonder why?

"Whatever you say Dimitri," I responded and winked. The class giggled at this. I took my normal seat beside Lissa who was beaming for some reason.

"What happened last night Lissa? Why were you so dressed up for Christian?"

"Oh my god Rose, we –" Lissa was cut off.

"Rose, you show up to my class late, and now you are talking through my lecture?" Scolded Dimitri. I wanted him to just stop scolding me already.

I was really curious, so I had Lissa write me a note.

It read "We had sex!"

I must have gasped when I read it because Dimitri turned towards me again, and noticed the note in my hand. He just shook his head at me. I could have sworn he looked amused. Thankfully he didn't take the note and read it out loud like Mr. Alto, or Mr. Nagy may have done. I was beginning to like Dimitri more and more.


	3. Chapter 3

**So this chapter contain scenes that include teen partying. If you aren't comfortable with this, than don't read it. As well, there is somewhat of an M rated scene in this chapter. I will clearly label it just in case you don't want to read it.**

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**Chapter 3**

Dimitri's class ended, and Lissa and I immediately dashed out of the classroom. Lissa squealed in excitement and started hugging me tightly. Well, tightly according to her standards at least. I would probably hug my fragile grandma (if I actually knew who she was) with the same force.

"I'm so happy for you Liss! You and Christian really are perfect together!" Honestly, I was pretty jealous of Lissa. I was still a virgin, while Lissa had already had sex with two different guys. I knew that it would be better for me to wait for the right man, but I was starting to get impatient.

"Thanks Rose. He was so caring and loving. I can't believe we waited even this long to do it."

"Lissa, you guys have only been dating for a month!"

"I know, but when it is right, you just know." Lissa sighed lovingly. Lissa and Christian were so in love that it was nauseating.

"So where did you guys find a private place even?"

"Well about that, we actually found a storage room above the church that we hang out in a lot, and we decided that it would be really romantic to do it there."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "YOU FUCKED IN A CHURCH?!" I demanded. "I thought you were religious. Doesn't your soul go to hell or something for doing that?" I had never believed in any religions, but Lissa had been a devout catholic for her entire life. Part of my problem was that I never had a family to spend Christmas and other holidays with, so I always hated the holiday season.

"Shhh, Rose, not so loud. You don't need to announce it to the entire world. And I admit that it wasn't one of my prouder moments, but it technically wasn't in the church. We were just above it.

"Yeah, in a room filled with religious stuff," I scoffed.

"Who are you to judge me Rose? You wouldn't even have second thoughts about hooking up with someone in a church." I guess she was right. It just bothered me that she was ignoring the beliefs that she had grown up with.

"I guess you're right. And Liss, you are using protection right?" I had to ask. Lissa had been so excited her first time that she hadn't even noticed that Aaron, her boyfriend at the time, wasn't wearing a condom. Naturally, she freaked out afterwards. I advised Lissa to take the morning after pill, but she was too shy to ask the health department for one. This is where being at a boarding school sucked. The only way that we could ensure that Lissa wouldn't get pregnant was by asking a health teacher for the pill. Being the good friend that I am, I picked up the pill for her. The health teacher now glares at me every class, and seems to stare directly at me when going over birth contraceptives.

"Of course Rose! I'm not going to be that stupid again!"

"Ok, good. I just had to make sure. I don't want a repeat of last time."

"Oh, there's Christian! I'll talk to you later Rose." I watched as Lissa dashed off towards Christian. It looked like I would be walking to my next class alone.

Or not, I decided when Mason grabbed me from behind.

"Hiya Rose!" Said Mason playfully. "My older brother just dropped by the school and brought me some booze. I'm going to throw a party out at that spot in the woods tonight. You should come!"

A party was exactly what I needed at this moment. "That sounds awesome Mason. I'll be there."

The rest of my classes that day were boring and uneventful. My day was mainly comprised of being bored in class, and being forced to watch Lissa and Christian suck each other's faces off. I couldn't get to the party fast enough. I was going to have to be careful sneaking out of my dorm though. Not only was I on house-arrest, but I didn't want the teachers to bust the party for everyone else.

Lissa hadn't been interested in going, but insisted that she come over to my room to help me decide on what to wear. It was very hot outside, so I decided that today would be a great day to show some skin.

"How about this dress, with these heals, with this necklace, with this hair style, and with this lipstick?" Squealed Lissa. Lissa is very easily excited.

"Calm down Liss, it's just a casual gathering in the woods. If a teacher sees me walking around outside, I don't want to bring attention to myself."

"Ok, fine. So no heels I guess. Your black flats are pretty cute though."

I had to admit that they were really nice.

"Ok, I'll wear the shoes. I'm thinking of wearing my lacy black top with a pair of simple white shorts." My black top left very little to the imagination. It had a tight fit, and while it wasn't see-through, it displayed nearly everything there was to see.

"I guess," Decided Lissa. "That just sounds kind of boring though."

"Boring is ok for today Lissa." I replied.

"I guess. Can you at least let me do your hair?" I sighed and gave in to Lissa's wishes.

In the end, Lissa had decided to braid sections of my hair, and elegantly twisted the strands into a bun. It looked really good. After throwing on some light make up, I was ready to go.

"Have fun Rose, and don't get caught." Called Lissa.

"I never get caught!" I yelled back.

It was painfully easy getting to the woods. There was no "security" at the doors, so I simply walked out of my building. It was still early enough that there were students wandering campus, so my being outside didn't look out of place in the slightest. I took a turn out to the main hiking trail and made my way towards the clearing. When I got there, a full party was raging. I was very excited to start having some fun.

"Roooosssseee," Slurred Mason. "Long time, and no see!"

"Mason, how are you this wasted already?"

"I'm always wasted for you baby," Grinned Mason as he slung an arm around me. "Come on, let's get some vodka into you."

I'm not the biggest drinker, but I do enjoy getting drunk once in a while. With all the stress of soccer, this seemed like a very good time to drink.

After downing three consecutive shots, I decided to take a break before my next ones. The last thing I wanted was to get sick. I was losing my touch though. I used to be able to down a shot with no trouble at all. This time, I was having trouble getting all the vodka into my mouth at once.

Looking around, I spotted Jesse talking to his best friend Ralf.

"Give me a moment Mase, I'm going to go talk to sexy Jesse." I slurred. Wait, I slurred? I only did three shots.

"Nah, you don't want to talk to Zeklos. Don't you want to spend time with me?" Pleaded Mason. His blue eyes seemed to be piercing into mine, but I didn't really feel anything.

"I'll come back in just a moment. I have to go say hi."

"Rose," Grinned Jesse as I approached him. "You look good tonight."

"Thank you." I replied. After flirting for a few minutes, Jesse whispered in my ear, "You know, there's a place that is about five minutes from here with a nice large grassy area…"

"Let's go!" I replied.

**(Somewhat M rated scene starts here):**

Jesse slung his arm around my shoulder and guided me to the grassy area. Once we got there, he laid me on the ground, and began kissing me aggressively. He instantly started feeling up my body, and I found that I was enjoying it. His kisses were a little sloppy, but still enjoyable. A small moan escaped from me as Jesse made his way down to my neck. His hands started reaching under my shirt, and I started stripping his off at the moment. He quickly had me out of my shirt. When I got him out of his shirt, I couldn't help but feel up his hard abs. With light brown hair, blue eyes, impeccable muscles, Jesse really is attractive.

"You're so hot," Murmured Jesse before he started kissing my stomach. As he made his way up towards my bra, I began contemplating giving up my virginity to him. I knew it wasn't the romantic moment that I had dreamed of, but I was sick and tired of waiting for the right guy. All I knew was that in that moment, I wanted Jesse, and he wanted me just as badly. I began grinding myself against his pants and he began moaning. He quickly unclipped my bra and began kissing his way up my legs, as his fingers began teasing my sensitive spot. I moaned as he started rubbing me vigorously.

**(M scene ends here)**

"Zeklos! Get your hands off her this instant!" Roared a man who was charging towards us. So help me, it was Dimitri. He had definitely seen Jesse rubbing me. How the hell am I supposed to face him ever again? Oh shit, I'm also topless. Hastily turning away from him, I clipped on my bra, and then reached for my shirt.

"Oh, it's not what it looks like," Said Jesse. He was nervously backing away from Dimitri. "If I ever catch you in a compromising position with a girl again…" He trailed off. The message was clear. Wow, Dimitri could be intimidating when he wanted.

"Yes sir, or course sir." Said Jesse, just as he ran away. I can't believe he just ran like that. What a coward!

"Rose, put on your shirt!" Barked Dimitri.

Looking down, I realized that I had been holding my shirt but had never put it on. How much had I had to drink?

"Don't you like me better this way comrade?" I slurred.

"Rose, have you been drinking? I knew the other kids at that party were, but I expected so much more of you!" Yelled Dimitri.

I threw on my shirt, and felt tears in my eyes. "I'm sorry. I was just so stressed about soccer, and had to get away from everything. Drinking just seemed like a good idea in the moment."

"Rose," Sighed Dimitri, in a much gentler tone this time. "Being stressed is exactly the reason that you shouldn't have been drinking. You can't just drink away your fears. I thought that you understood the importance of training for soccer also. I told you to go jogging after school today, for your own good. Instead, I find you here in some field, wasted beyond words with some guy. Did you even think about how you were going to feel during our training tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry Dimitri! I just, I wanted to have some fun. I had such a lousy day, and I just wanted to let loose for a bit." I was still having a hard time holding back my tears.

"Rose, what you did tonight was so reckless and irresponsible. Forgetting the drinking, what were you thinking when you let Zeklos lead you out here alone in the middle of the night. He could have taken advantage of you. If you had screamed, no one would have heard you." Dimitri stated. He actually looked concerned for me at this point. At the same time, he was also pitying me for my stupid choices of the night. I hated that. I didn't want him to pity me. I wanted him to be proud of me.

"Dimitri, you aren't going to report this to Kirova, are you? She made it very clear that she will ban me from soccer if I step out of line again."

Dimitri seemed to contemplate this for a while. "No, Rose, I won't report you this one time. But if I ever catch you doing something like this again, then don't expect me to help you become a better soccer player."

"Thank you Dimitri!" I moaned in relief.

"However, as my own form of punishment, I still expect to see you at 7:00 tomorrow. I don't care how much your head hurts. Be there, and prove to me, and to yourself as well, that you actually care about soccer."

"OK, I will be there. I promise. I won't let you down again!" I cried. How did he have this much of an effect on me? I had never wanted to gain someone's trust and approval as much as I wanted his.

"Roza," sighed Dimitri with that adorable Russian accent of his, "You won't let me down. You don't even recognize the potential that you have. You are truly amazing, but you have to work on your impulse control."

The alcohol seemed to be wearing off at this point, and I found myself unable to believe that I had nearly had sex with some random guy in the middle of the woods, without freaking protection. God, I am so stupid.

"I will work on it. I can't believe I just –" I trailed off, not really wanting to talk about Jesse with Dimitri.

"I know Roza, I know." Sighed Dimitri. "We all make mistakes. The important thing is that you learn from this."

"I will. I'm never going to do something this stupid ever again. I'm just confused though, I only had –" I trailed off again since I didn't want to talk about my alcohol consumption with Dimitri either. I had been about to ask him I could have gotten so drunk off of three shots. What is with me right now? Why do I keep nearly saying these things to my English teacher?

"You only had, what?" Questioned Dimitri.

"Never mind, it's nothing." I replied.

"I know you are lying," Responded Dimitri instantly. "You know, you can trust me if you want to talk about anything. If you want to tell me why you have been so stressed lately, I can listen."

I was torn. I really wanted to talk to him, to spill everything that had been bothering me for the past few days to him, but it seemed inappropriate. I knew he would listen if I told him about the way I had felt when Lissa told me that she had had sex, but he's my teacher. I can't just randomly talk about sex with him. Besides, I still couldn't bear the thought of him thinking that I had wanted to become intimate with Jesse. At the moment, I couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like if it had been Dimitri all over me in the woods. What his lips would have felt like on my skin. How his hands would rub against me, and how he would murmur sexy things into my ear with his wonderful accent.

Shit, I have to stop thinking these things. Again, he is my teacher!

"Thanks Dimitri, but I just –" I trailed off again, not knowing exactly what to say.

"It's ok Rose. Just remember that next time you are upset enough to do something like this, that you should talk to someone first. You and Lissa seem to be good friends. You should tell her how you are feeling. And if you can't talk to your friends, you have me. There is just something about you Rose that I can't place my finger on. You are just so passionate with everything that you do, and you are loyal towards the people that you care about. You're a good person." He hesitated for a moment. "It hurts me to see you doing things like this to yourself, because you don't deserve it."

"Dimitri," I sighed. No man had ever been so straight forward and caring with me.

"Come one Rose, let's get back to your room. You should get some sleep, and here. He pulled out a water bottle from his bag. You should drink lots of water. Don't make a habit of drinking my water all the time though."

I giggled at this, and couldn't help but notice the oddness of having my English teacher walking me to my room two nights in a row.

"So what happened to everyone else who was at the party?" I questioned curiously.

"Nothing really. I showed up and did my best to scare them away. I could have punished them, but it would be kind of pointless to do so. It would be nearly impossible to tell who had been drinking. It wouldn't prevent them from doing this again in the future as well anyways. Wait, don't tell anyone I said that last part."

"Of course not comrade. Your secret's safe with me. How did you know there was a party anyways?"

Dimitri laughed at this. "We aren't idiots you know Rose. When staff members see countless amounts of people heading towards the woods, it kind of gives us a hint."

I kind of felt embarrassed for having even asking. It probably was really obvious. So much for, "I never get caught." Everything I did today was just so stupid.

By the time we made it back to my dorm, I had downed the rest of Dimitri's water, and after apologizing to him countless amounts of times for everything, I closed the door to my room and passed out before I could even get changed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, I hope you are all enjoying the story so far! Remember to leave reviews! I love getting feedback (even if it's sometimes negative). So if you don't like something specifically, tell me, because I will work towards improving it!**

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**Chapter 4**

Getting up the next morning was utter hell. I had woken up in the middle of the night after passing out with a huge headache and couldn't fall back asleep for another few hours. So I was basically working on a couple of hours of sleep and a huge hangover at the moment. 'Nicely done Rose,' I scolded myself.

I looked at myself in the mirror, and looked awful. I couldn't stand the idea of Dimitri seeing me like this. I threw on a lot of cover up and blush to make my skin look somewhat normal, and used black liner and white powder under my eyes to draw away from the ominous black lines under my eyes. There was nothing that I wanted more than to go back to sleep, but I couldn't do that to myself or Dimitri. I promised I would show up, so I will show up. Better yet, I am going to show up on time for once.

I left my room at 6:30 and ate a proper breakfast of eggs and fruit before going out to the field. Much to my surprise, and to Dimitri's as well, I was five minutes early.

"Good morning comrade,"

"Good morning Rose. Start running your laps. Only this time, I want you to actually complete the three miles in twenty-five minutes this time."

I got up, and ran as hard as I possibly could. My muscles were killing, my head was pounding, and my lungs were crying, but I was determined to impress Dimitri. As I was running, I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift to Dimitri. I couldn't help but wish that I had talked to him more yesterday about what had been bothering me. My friends are all amazing, but they aren't the best group of people to talk to your problems about. Lissa always overreacts to everything and generally follows me around like a concerned puppy dog whenever I tell her about anything. It normally makes me feel worse about whatever the problem was in the first place, and it makes me feel guilty for upsetting Lissa. Mason and Eddie are also amazing friends, but we have more of a fun relationship with each other, not really a, 'I'm going to tell you all of my deepest secrets,' kind of friendship. A lot of the time, I just covered whatever I was feeling up with humor since I never really had people to talk to.

I really must have zoned out, because the next thing I knew, I had completed the three miles, and it had only been 24 minutes.

"Good job Rose. You can grab a sip of water, and then I want you to do the same sprinting exercise as you did yesterday."

I groaned, and reached for my water, which I actually remembered to bring this time.

The rest of the practice was basically the same as it had been yesterday.

"So comrade, how is that book that you're reading?" I asked teasingly.

"Again, Roza, these books are actually quite good." He replied with a hint of smile.

"So I have been wondering, where did you learn to play soccer? Because you are seriously awesome at it!"

Dimitri's face lit up. He should really smile more often. All of his facial complexions seemed to loosen into what seemed to be their natural state. His eyes seemed to dance, his teeth sparkled, and his lips, oh god his lips. "I played in a league back home," He replied modestly.

"Don't give me that crap!" I exclaimed, "I know for a fact that you played in more than some minor recreational league. Did you play in university or something?" I asked excitedly.

"Not university exactly," Replied Dimitri. "I actually played in the Russian Football Premier League for three years."

My jaw must have literally dropped. "That's freaking professional Dimitri! You are a pro soccer player! How could you have never told me this before?" I was bursting with excitement. Dimitri is probably like a celebrity in Russia. I couldn't wait to tell the other girls on the team.

"Was a pro soccer player," He corrected. "Obviously, I'm not anymore."

"What? Why not? you're only..." I stopped because I didn't actually know how old he was.

He smiled again. Can he please just smile every moment humanly possible? "I love the game of soccer obviously," He replied. "I actually suffered a major concussion in my last year of playing. The doctor has very strongly advised me to stay clear of playing competitively for at least five years. Heading the ball is out of the question at the moment. In all likelihood, I will never be able to play again." His smile had faded by this point as he seemed to get lost in a memory. "You know, the situation you had been placed in because of your knee injury reminded me of the one that I am in with my head. Only, you have a lot more hope than I do of working your way up the ranks again."

"Don't say that Dimitri. I'm sure you will be able to play again some day." My heart really was breaking for Dimitri. He is far too good of a person to be suffering through this.

"You are so optimistic and enthusiastic Roza! It's so," he paused, specifically picking out his word. "Refreshing, and well, amazing," He finished. So much for picking out the perfect words. I mean 'amazing'? I expect better from an English teacher. However, I still couldn't keep a smile off of my face.

"So what are you doing teaching here anyways?" I blurted.

He chuckled again. "Well, I do need to make a living somehow. I guess I just wanted to explore a new part of the world. Although, my dream is to one day become the head coach of a professional team."

"You know, you really are an amazing instructor. I have no doubt that you would make a wonderful coach!" I exclaimed. "Wait, actually, you would be an amazing instructor if you would actually let me touch the ball. I'm sick of running! The first game of the season is coming up quickly and I need all the practice that I can get before it."

Dimitri chuckled. "Don't worry Roza, we will be working with the ball tomorrow. For now however, it is time you go to class. I have to get to my room as well. Good job today!"

I sighed before leaving and saying my goodbyes to him. I showered off quickly this time after practice, and actually made it to class on time. Thank god I had chosen Dimitri's class to be late to, because this morning I had history with Mr. Nagy who would not take nearly as kindly to me being late.

Ten minutes into class, Kirova knocked on the door and asked to speak to our class for a moment. Behind her followed a tall boy with messy brown hair and jade green eyes.

"Class, this is Adrian Ivashkov, he has just transferred to our school. Treat him well." Announced Kirova.

Adrian scanned the class for an empty seat and ended up taking a seat beside Mason. Normally Mason would sit by Eddie, but Eddie hadn't shown up to class this morning for some reason.

The rest of the morning passed, and I found myself at my normal table during lunch. Taking Dimitri's advice, I had selected a tuna sandwich made on whole wheat bread for lunch. Although I did supplement it with a donut still. Bad habits die hard.

"Rose, you're alive!" Declared Eddie who had shown up for lunch. He claimed he hadn't felt well in the morning. I felt like punching him. "I could barely believe my eyes when I saw you down six shots in a row. I mean, that's insane!"

Wait, six shots? "What do you mean Eddie? I took three shots."

"Oh Hathaway, have you forgotten already or something?"

"No, I haven't forgotten. I just remember taking three shots."

Eddie scratched his head, and looked confused. Suddenly his eyes lit with understanding. "Rose, you do realize that the cup Mason gave you was a double shot glass right?"

No, I most definitely had not realized that. I was going to kill Mason when he got here. Everything made a lot more sense at least. I had been worried that I couldn't even handle three shots.

Mason eventually showed up to our table, and brought the new kid, Adrian, to come sit with us.

"Mason, I'm going to kill you!" I screeched. Everyone laughed, except for Mason.

"Why? What did I do?" Asked Mason.

"At the party last night, you gave me double shots instead of single shots. I got so wasted that I hooked up with Jesse, and got caught by Dimitri on top of everything!"

"You hooked up with Jesse?" Squealed Lissa. "How was it?"

"You hooked up with Jesse?" Growled Mason. "And I'm sorry Rose, but I was pretty drunk myself when I gave you those shots. I must not have realized. I'm really sorry. I obviously didn't mean to get you into trouble or anything."

"Don't worry about it Mase. It's my fault for trusting a drunken idiot."

"What did you just call me?" Demanded Mason playfully.

"So how was Jesse?" Urged Lissa.

"He was alright I guess, kind of sloppy though. And a huge coward. He literally ran away from Dimitri."

"Jesse Zeklos? A coward? Who would have thought?" Said Lissa.

"Me!" Exclaimed Mason. "I hate that guy. Rose, you know that he is a player, so why would you hook up with him?"

I shrugged my shoulders in response. I really had no good reason.

As I got up to leave for lunch, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Adrian. "You're quite the heartbreaker, aren't you?"

"What the hell kind of question is that to ask someone who you just met?" I replied. Who does this Adrian guy think he is?

"I'm just telling you how I see it. Guys would do anything to get you, but you push them all away, never looking for something serious."

"That's just not true," I began but then stopped. It kind of was true. I had never had an actual boyfriend. I just flirted a lot, and hooked up on occasion.

"See, even you know it's the truth. Now excuse me, I have to go outside for a smoke." He began walking towards the doors, and I couldn't help but follow.

"Smoke? We're on school grounds? Those things are terrible for you!" I exclaimed.

He shrugged his shoulders and lit up a cigarette anyways. I frowned at him and walked away.

I continued walking towards class, and was fairly surprised when Adrian caught up to me. "What class do you have next?" He asked.

"Cooking," I replied. I had taken cooking as an elective because everyone had said it was a really easy class. The problem was that I couldn't cook if my life depended on it.

"Really? I have cooking as well." Replied Adrian.

"You're taking cooking?" I asked with surprise.

"I would ask the same thing. I couldn't really imagine someone like you taking a class as mild as cooking. You seem more like the girl to be taking woods class despite being the only girl in there."

"I guess I will take that as a compliment Adrian," I replied. While Adrian didn't seem to be completely weird or anything, I found it odd that he was making so much conversation with me. He seemed like a pretty social guy who could probably make friends with whoever he wanted. Does he want to be friends with me for some reason?

We made it to the cooking room and Adrian took a seat beside me.

"Class, today we are going to be making lasagna. Pair up into cooking partners and get started immediately or else you are going to run out of time. However, before we start the lab, we need to go over our safety procedures. Can you please take out your lab safety and cleanliness handouts and fill them in for this lab?" Asked Mrs. Brown.

Adrian nudged me when Mrs. Brown mentioned partners. I guess it couldn't hurt to work with him for a day.

The class began to stand, and we all started preparing the ingredients. Adrian began chopping up the vegetables and shredding the cheese while I boiled water and heated up the pan for the ground beef. I quickly threw the meat on the pan. When the water began to boil, I threw the pasta in and turned around to chat with Adrian for a bit.

"So how are you liking your new school?" I asked him.

"I like you." He replied with a wink. Well, that was kind of forward.

I was about to use one of my classic Rose replies when I heard Mrs. Brown shrieking for me to return to my station. The water had boiled over and was making a mess.

"Rosemarie! How many times have we been over this? You have to turn the temperature of the element down after putting the pasta in the pot!" She exclaimed.

Shit. I forgot. "Sorry. It won't happen again."

After cleaning up, I realized that I had forgotten to check on the meat which was sitting on the pan still. Since I hadn't been stirring it, the bottom half of the meat was burnt, and the top half was bright red. I tried stirring it up, but found that the chunks of meat were sticking together.

After stabbing at the meat for what felt like an eternity, Adrian showed up behind me and began to laugh.

"You're pretty bad at this, aren't you?" He teased. He pushed me aside and effortlessly stirred the meat together, and cooked it all out.

"When did you get so good at cooking?" I asked. "You practice all the time or something?" I teased.

"No. I've actually never cooked ground beef before. Or pasta for that matter. Hell, I don't cook anything normally. I don't think I'm particularly good at cooking really, I think that you're just bad at it."

"Thanks," I muttered.

Adrian assembled the lasagna and decided I couldn't cause too much harm by spreading a layer of sauce on the lasagna.

"Rose, why isn't the oven on? You said you would pre-heat it." Sighed Adrian who turned it on.

Did I say that?

"You are really bad at listening to instructions Rose. But that's ok. I like woman who are controlling."

"Shut up Ivashkov." This guy was starting to get on my nerves.

A while after, Adrian decided that the lasagna was ready to go in the oven. While it was cooking, the two of us cleaned all the dishes.

"This must be what it's like to be an old married couple," Commented Adrian while we were washing dishes together, bantering with one another.

"You say the most inappropriate things Ivashkov," I replied.

"I could say the same about you," He replied.

I sighed. This was going to be a long year of cooking class if I had to partner with Adrian every day.

The buzzer went off a bit later, and Adrian took the lasagna out of the oven. After letting it cool, we sat down and ate it.

"This is delicious!" I exclaimed while shoving spoonfuls of it down my mouth. "See, I can cook!"

"Sure, take the credit for this Hathaway," smirked Adrian. "You probably would have set the school on fire if I hadn't been here."

"That's not true. I'm not that bad at cooking," Although I sighed because I knew he was right. Why did I have to suck so badly at cooking?

After finishing the food on my plate, I found myself wanting more. I started eyeing up Adrian's food who gave me an amused look.

"Take it Rose." He said pushing his plate towards me.

I dove into his meal and devoured in about a minute. Maybe Adrian isn't so bad.

"Where does that food go?" Asked Adrian, who was openly admiring my body.

The bell rang shortly after, and I hurried off to English class. I got there on time. I hadn't been late to a single class today. I had to tell Dimitri.

I took my normal seat beside Lissa, and Adrian sat down with Mason again. I couldn't help but notice how chummy the two of them already appeared. As Dimitri began the class, I found Adrian looking at me from across the room. I also noticed a very pissed off looking Mason. I hadn't even noticed I was looking at the two for very long when I sensed a tall shadow looming over me.

"Would you please pay attention Rose?" Demanded Dimitri. His smile from earlier was definitely gone.

"Of course, sorry." I replied.

He ignored me and continued on with his lesson. I stopped looking at Mason and Adrian. I could deal with them later. My full focus was on Dimitri.

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**I thought it would be interesting for Mason and Adrian to get to know each other as friends. Maybe there will be some drama between them and Rose. Review if you want dating between some combination of them.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, thanks for the support on this story. This chapter is kind of a filler, but I promise the next one will be action filled!**

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**Chapter 5**

When class ended, I hurried off to get ready for soccer. There was no way I could let myself be late again. Although I can't say I would mind being partners with Dimitri again for the practice.

"Hey guys," I said as I walked into the change room. Mia, Meredith, and a couple of other girls from our team were already in there.

"Hi Rose," Said Mia. "How have your extra trainings been going? I would hate to get up so early in the morning every day, but you are so lucky to spend to spend so much time with Coach Belikov. I don't know how you act so composed around him. I would probably just ramble to him like a freak."

Of course Mia didn't realize that I had already broken down in front of him twice. So much for staying composed around him.

"He's just Dimitri. No one to be particularly nervous around." I replied lightly. I decided not to mention him being a former professional since I didn't want Mia to faint. "But I am really tired. I can already feel myself getting into better shape though. I just wish we would actually touch a soccer ball once in a while."

"You haven't even done anything aside from running?" Asked Mia in an exasperated tone.

"Well, we have also been doing muscular exercises, but it's basically running so far."

"Wow, you may as well just join the track team if that's all you're doing."

"I know right?" I replied. Although I didn't really mean it. I knew that Dimitri knew what he was doing as a coach. His methods seem strange, but I am confident that he will teach me everything that I need to know.

We made our way down to the field, and Mia and I passed a ball around for a bit. I also took a few practice shots on our goalie. My shots were going in, but it was only because the keeper sucked. Our goalie, Natalie Dashkov, is truly the weakest player on our team. If we don't find a new goalie soon, we are going to be in trouble.

"Nice shot Rose!" Yelled Natalie as my fifth shot in a row blasted right by her. She is so annoying.

"Everyone, start the team warm up!" Announced Alberta. Meredith promptly led our team around the field three times. It turns out Dimitri had made me run more laps than the rest of the team had to last practice. I would have to speak to him about that.

Once we were done jogging, we paired off and chipped the ball to one another. Only this time, we had to head the ball back to our partners after the chip was made. Heading the ball back was pretty difficult for Mia considering my chips never made it particularly high off the ground.

Alberta brought us in about ten minutes later to begin going over some strategies. She brought out her little white board, and began drawing out the different positions. To my dismay, she placed Meredith in the position of center mid-field, and put me in as a central defender.

"I don't play defense," I commented immediately as she wrote my name in.

"Coach Belikov and I were talking, and decided your skills may be best suited in the back. We may move you around though if you prove to be ineffective there."

But if I play defense then I will probably never get to score. I would talk to Dimitri about this later.

Speaking of Dimitri, I noticed him arriving with a girl who looked about my age.

"There you are Dimitri," Said Alberta in relief. "Girls, this is Viktoria. She has moved here all the way from Russia. She normally plays as a goalie, so we will have to test her out at practice."

It seemed clear that Alberta was already very confident in Viktoria because she placed Viktoria as a starting keeper on her white board. Natalie seemed unaffected and was content to wave at Viktoria. Why is Natalie even on the team if she doesn't care when she gets removed from the starting line?

Thinking of the starting line, I had to count my blessings that I had at least been given a spot on it. I guess Alberta has faith that I will improve between now and the first game.

"Now as I was trying to say before," began Alberta. "We want to focus our strength in the middle of the field so that we can easily collapse and act as a unit defensively. Saying that, it is crucial for our players who are playing along the wings of the field to move the ball, and to take runs with it to the corners. If you aren't fast enough, we will not be able to play you along the wings." Firmly stated Alberta.

After that, she went over basic positioning that we should be in while taking, and defending corner kicks. After a bit more strategizing, we went out to the field to practice a couple of corner kicks. Alberta had the defensive unit act as defenders for this drill since we wouldn't play a huge role offensively during our team's kicks.

I was stationed right in front of the keeper, and was in charge of guarding the other team's striker. In this case, I was guarding Mia. This shouldn't be too hard considering Mia is only five foot two. I have a good four inches on her. Anything that comes in the air will be mine.

Alberta had Carly, one of the outside midfielders taking the kicks themselves. The first couple flew in way over my head, so I had nothing to worry about. However, the next kick came right towards me. Doing my best to time it out properly, I leaped up and headed the ball up the field and towards the side line. I noticed Alberta and Dimitri sharing a grin after this play. We continued doing this same drill for at least ten more minutes, and Mia still hadn't beaten me to the ball. She was getting very frustrated by this point since she hadn't touched it once.

"Rose, stop being so good already," Complained Mia.

I had to admit, corner kicks weren't exactly suited to Mia's skills. Mia is effective because she is ridiculously fast. Once of the fastest sprinters at this school in fact. However, she has no height, and she isn't very strong either, meaning that she has a hard time holding her own when the ball is in the air.

Throughout this drill, Viktoria was playing in net while Natalie sat off to the side. Viktoria was incredible. When shots did manage to make it past the other defenders, she was on top of them immediately. She had only let in two shots throughout the entire drill which was really impressive.

Instead of scrimmaging today, Alberta had us play a shooting game to let Viktoria get more practice, as well as to make the practice more fun. This game was one of my favourite. It's called jail. In this game, you get two chances to score. If you don't score, then you go to jail. You can only get out of jail if someone on your team scores two in a row and decides to bring you out. It's a pretty simple game.

The game began, and the first four kickers from each team were in jail. Not a single person had gotten a shot past Viktoria. However, Meredith was up next and placed both of her shots into the back of the net, meaning she could bring a teammate out of jail. I have to get both of my shots in now.

It was my turn to shoot. The ball was rolling towards my foot, and I kicked it as hard as I could. Too bad it flew five feet over the net. Alberta rolled out the next ball to me and I dribbled it towards Viktoria trying to deke her out. She didn't fall for my moves and promptly broke up my play. I found myself in jail. Dimitri smirked at me. Stupid Russian jailer. Or jailers I considered as I thought about the other Russian who blocked both of my shots.

Mia was on my team and had managed to score on one of her shots. Her and Meredith were the only ones left in the game.

"Go Mia!" I screamed.

Mia missed both of her shots. Meredith scored one of hers and the game was over.

"Losing team, go run two laps around the field!" Yelled Alberta.

I quickly got up and led my team around the field. This run felt like nothing compared to what Dimitri has been making me do.

"Good practice today girls!" Said Alberta. "Remember that we only have one more practice before our first game, so make sure that you are running at least daily if you aren't already. I will make some adjustments to our strategy and game, and announce the starting line up at our next practice."

We headed back to the change room. Once we got there, I began talking to Mia again.

"Oh my god Rose, your extra training has really paid off. You were playing so well today! I wish I had a sexy Russian god teaching me to play," Sighed Mia.

From across the room Viktoria started laughing.

"Please tell me you aren't talking about my brother," She finally managed to get out.

"You are Dimitri's sister?" I asked.

"Well duh." She replied. "You think it's some coincidence that I happen to be Russian and showed up to practice with him today? By the way Mia, he is such a loser. Not a god. And don't ever call him sexy again. I don't want to hear it."

"But he is dead sexy. I just want to –" I began teasing her before she cut me off.

"Shut up," She replied with a smile.

"Are you a senior?" I asked her.

"No, I am a junior actually," She replied. "You're a senior I take it?"

"Yep." I replied. "Which dorm are you staying in?"

"Howard."

"That's where I am also. Have you moved your stuff in yet?" I asked.

"No, Dimitri told me he would help with it after the practice."

"Oh ok, let me help you also. After I shower off, I'll meet up with you. What room are you in?"

"Room 102."

What? She can't be in that room. That's my room! I like having an extra empty bed and double closet space in there. And there were like a zillion other empty rooms in the dorm. Why would they put her in mine? My face must have given away what I was feeling, "What's wrong Rose? Is something the matter with that room or something?" She asked, with the same accent as Dimitri, only hers was much stronger.

"There's nothing wrong exactly, it's just that, that's my room." I kind of felt bad for making Viktoria feel unwelcome since she seemed really nice. "That's ok though! We're roomies!" I exclaimed, trying to act as excited as I could.

Viktoria's eyes lit up. She really is quite pretty. She is at least five foot eight and has the same dark brown hair and eyes as Dimitri. "That's so amazing. I was really worried I would get put with some awful roommate!"

"Don't worry, I'm not that bad," I replied.

We walked back to my dorm, and I was surprised to see that Dimitri was already in there waiting for us. Oh god, my room is a mess I thought to myself. Why hadn't anyone told me someone would be coming here? Viktoria's bed was filled with a pile of my shirts and pants while her drawers were stuffed with my underwear.

"I'm so sorry for the mess," I quickly apologized. "I hadn't realized someone would be in here."

I quickly grabbed all of the clothes from her bed and stuffed them into my drawer as tightly as I could. Next I tried to remove my undergarments from the drawer. I had to admit; a lot of my bras and underwear were very sexy. I was hoping that neither of the Belikovs would notice them when I was pulling them out.

"That is so cute!" Exclaimed Viktoria, looking at a red lacy bra that was at the top of my pile. "Where did you get it?"

Dimitri muttered something in Russian and tried to turn his attention away from us.

"Dimka! Language!" Exclaimed Viktoria. She then turned her gaze back to me.

"Victoria's Secret," I replied. "My friend Lissa bought it for me on a shopping trip last year."

"Wow, I'm jealous. Dimka is in charge of giving me spending money while we're here, and there's no way he's going to give me money for something like that," she sighed.

"You're right I won't," Groaned Dimitri.

"Come on comrade, let your sister have some fun," I said. Dimitri mumbled something in Russian again, and Viktoria got up and slapped him.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Getting beaten up by your little sister there?" I teased Dimitri.

"My sisters and I beat him up all the time when we were little!" Exclaimed Viktoria. "There was this one time that –"

"That's enough Viktoria," Interrupted Dimitri.

For the next hour, Dimitri neatly folded all of Viktoria's clothes into her drawers, and made her bed flawlessly while the two of us chatted.

"So are there any hot guys here?" Asked Viktoria.

I motioned over to Dimitri just to bother Viktoria, who lightly hit me in the arm. Although it was true, Dimitri is the hottest thing at this school.

"Well, there is this guy Jesse," I began out of impulse, but immediately stopped when I remembered that Dimitri was here. At the mention of the name Jesse, he turned towards me and glared. He then muttered something in Russian again and continued putting away viktoria's clothes.

"Dimka! You can't get away with muttering in Russian like that when I'm here!" Viktoria scolded.

"Sorry, I must have gotten used to the habit," Replied Dimitri.

When Dimitri finally finished he said goodnight to the two of us, and reminded me that I had practice with him tomorrow at our usual time.

Viktoria and I talked a bit more before heading down to the cafeteria for supper. I had a feeling that Viktoria would fit in perfectly with the rest of my friends.

On our way down, Adrian found us in the hall.

"Who's your friend?" Asked Adrian kindly.

"This is Viktoria. She actually just transferred here from Russia." I replied.

"Oh, ok." Replied Adrian. "I have always like Russians, they're just so-"

Viktoria lightly slapped him mid-sentence. "Don't even start with it, whatever your name is."

"Oh, where are my manners?" He asked innocently. "I am Adrian Ivashkov. It is good to meet you Viktoria. Rose and I are already great friends. I am sure the two of us will be as well."

"Good to meet you too Ivashkov," Grumbled Viktoria.

"Ivashkov," Hissed someone from behind me. Viktoria hadn't even turned to see who it was. She simply muttered something in Russian and kept walking. When I turned to look, I wasn't surprised by this point to see that it was Dimitri.

"You need to relax comrade, Viktoria can handle herself." I told him.

He didn't reply to me. After a bit of a silence, he finally turned to me and said, "You had a good practice today. When we worked on drills that focused on athletic ability as opposed to skill, you excelled. Next time we meet, I will work with you on specific skills on the condition that you jog on your own."

"Yes! Of course I will jog on my own. And thank you Dimitri!" I yelled as I ran to catch up with Viktoria who was probably thinking about how weird it was that I had been walking with her brother for any extended amount of time.

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**I will try uploading the next chapter as quickly as I can. It's going to be a long one, and will include Rose's first game of the season. Do you think she is going to win? How do you think Dimitri will react to her performance? **

**Also, I am planning on bringing Janine into this story at some point. Opinions on what her job should be would be awesome because I am unsure of what do with her character at the moment. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again for the support! So here is the long chapter that I had promised previously. Feedback would be super appreciated. So review!**

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My alarm started screeching at me. I tried covering my ears with my pillow, but the yelp of the alarm was still pounding through me. Eventually I decided to just chuck my pillow at it. The stupid thing still wouldn't turn off. Finally, I stumbled out of bed and whacked the off button with a much higher than necessary amount of force.

"Roza, why do you have to get up so darn early every single morning?" Complained Viktoria.

It turned out that Viktoria had been placed in my room because the school didn't want to pay extra maintenance bills. One extra room occupied is one extra room that has to be cleaned.

"Sorry Vika," I sighed. "Trust me, I don't enjoy being up this early either."

Over the past few mornings, I had gotten into a routine of actually deciding what I would be wearing to training before going to sleep in order to be as quick and quiet as possible in the mornings for Vika's sake. "Tell my brother that I blame him for this," She groaned.

I got dressed and readied as quickly as I could, and quietly slipped out of the room since Vika had already fallen back to sleep.

I met with Dimitri at our normal spot, and ran a couple laps around the field to warm up. When I finished running, Dimitri stood and dribbled a ball towards me.

"Because the first game of the season is tomorrow, I don't plan on tiring you out today," Began Dimitri. "Alberta and I are still intent on placing you as a defender. The team is very short on strong defensemen, and we see that your natural abilities allow you to be a very strong defensive force. Alberta has told me that she has already gone over positioning with you, but asked me to further your knowledge. She asked specifically for me to teach you how to play as a sweeper."

A sweeper plays as the very last defender back and is responsible for ensuring that all players are in the right positions at all times since being further back gives you a good view of the field.

"Comrade, I know technically how you are supposed to play as a sweeper. You just stand behind all the other people," I replied lightly.

"If only it were that simple," Sighed Dimitri.

For the first ten minutes of our training, Dimitri and I actually sat on the grass as I watched him draw out diagrams on his little white clipboard. Sitting during training with Dimitri was bizarre to say the least, after having him push me harder than anyone ever has before.

Every time I leaned in to get a closer look at his whiteboard, I caught the smell of his aftershave. It was divine. I would have been content to sit in the sun with Dimitri all day long in the comfortable silence that seemed to exist so naturally between the two of us.

"Do you understand?" Asked Dimitri.

"Yes! I understand!" I replied.

"Good," Said Dimitri, "Because the last thing I want to work on is your one on one skills. Of course, I will be playing as the offensive player. As the sweeper, I do not –"

I quickly cut him off. "You do not expect me to be taking one on ones since no one will be there to support me in the case that I lose the ball."

Dimitri looked impressed. "Glad to see that you were listening."

Dimitri got up and motioned for me to stand a fair distance away. His objective was to get past me and get a good shot at goal. There was of course no goalie at the moment, but it was irrelevant.

With lightning speed, Dimitri began to charge towards me. Before I could even process what had happened, he had streaked right past me.

"Shit," Was all I could say.

Dimitri seemed to repress the urge to laugh at that.

"You have to focus Rose," Said Dimitri who was preparing to run the drill again. I was expecting him to come at me a little slower this time considering what had happened during his last run. But no, he came charging at me again. This time I was able to serve as a momentary annoyance between his getting to the net. However, with a quick deke off to the left, he flew by me on the right.

"That's a little better Rose. You have to make sure you are on your toes at all times. Don't let yourself fall for dekes."

"Easier said than done," I mumbled.

We repeated this process another five times at least and had similar results. After each run, Dimitri would give me pointers on how to improve what I had just done.

This time, he came charging at me again. I sprinted up and met him further away from the net than I had been previously, and kept my feet moving to ensure I could at least keep up with him. His body swayed left, but by this point I knew him well enough to know that it was just going to be a deke.

Wrong! He flew by me on the left.

"Dammit," I muttered. "I could have sworn that was just going to be a fake," I sighed.

"I know you did Roza," Replied Dimitri. "That's why I went left." He said with a chuckle.

We did another five runs of this drill, and I felt like I was finally beginning to improve.

It was the last run of this drill for the morning, and I was determined to stop Dimitri.

He started moving towards me, but was moving a lot slower than he had been previously. Why is he going so slow? I gave him a perplexed look as I ran up to meet him. He arched one eyebrow in response. That is so cool! I wish I could arch one eyebrow like that.

Dimitri's speed suddenly picked up and he sprinted by me.

"You have to focus," Repeated Dimitri.

"It's your own fault for doing that stupid eyebrow thing!" I replied.

He raised his eyebrow in response. Damn him.

"Am I really that big of a distraction?" He asked playfully.

"Well, you are pretty big," I replied in the same light tone.

This elicited a warm smile out of him.

"Oh Roza, what am I going to do with you?"

My heart leaped every time he called me Roza. Viktoria had also begun calling me Roza, but hearing it from her wasn't like hearing it from Dimitri. The way he said my name made it sound truly beautiful. Far more beautiful than stupid roses actually are. Seriously, who came up with all of the stupid clichés about red roses and true love?

"Dimitri," I began, "I'm," I paused. "I'm kind of nervous for the game. What if I screw up and the other team scores on us? It will all be my fault."

"Are you honestly worried Roza? You underestimate yourself daily. You are capable of doing anything. You just have to put your mind to it, stay focused, and try your hardest if you want to succeed. It may sound kind of cheesy, but the process does really matter more than the end result."

"Thank you for that Dimitri! I really was feeling deprived of reading overused quotes out of fortune cookies," I began sarcastically.

"I'm serious," He replied. "As long as you try your hardest, you won't possibly be able to let your team down. I have seen how loyal you are towards your friends. You would do anything in your power to protect them. Soccer is the same thing. All you have to do is be loyal to your teammates, and protect them. When all else goes wrong on the field, it will be up to you to save the team from suffering. And I know that you will save them a countless amount of times in the future."

His words were of course very inspirational, but was there any actual truth behind them? As I gazed up into Dimitri's eyes, I found myself beginning to believe what he had told me. I used to be the best damn soccer player in this place, and I will be again.

His eyes are so brown. A brown similar to that of freshly made dark chocolate that is swirling around in a fountain. A brown so pure, rich, majestic and sweet. A brown so deep and bottomless that I can so easily lose myself in.

I don't really know how long the two of us sat like that. I just knew that I was happy. Nothing really mattered except for his presence. "You're going to be spectacular tomorrow Roza, you're never anything less than that." He sighed while suddenly reaching out to stroke my hair in his fingertips. This slight touch was enough to send shivers throughout my entire body. Just as quickly as he had touched my hair, he let go of it and hastily stood up.

"You should get to class," He said gruffly, "It's late."

I checked my watch, and indeed it was very late already. Time must have really flied. I quickly picked up my bag and ran back to my room to get ready for school. I didn't have time for a shower, so I threw my hair up into a bun and pulled on a hoodie and jeans.

I started rushing towards class when a rude figure interrupted me on the way.

"You look like shit," Commented Jesse who had shown up from behind me.

"You are shit," I replied.

Jesse looked very taken aback by my comment.

"Whoa there Rosie, didn't mean any harm in my comment. I just meant that you have looked better."

"Don't call me Rosie," I growled.

"Wow, are you ever sensitive! Good thing I never got seriously involved with you." Smirked Jesse.

"She is sensitive, but I'd still fuck her anyway," Said Jesse's friend Ralf who had caught up to us.

"Too bad that I will never ever be with you. Hell, no human being on earth has enough self-respect to get involved with someone like you," I replied.

"Shut up Rose. Since when are you so picky about who you sleep anyways? Last I remember, you were the slut who would screw with just about anyone." Snarked Ralf.

It took all the control within me, but I refrained from punching him.

"You disgust me!" Was all I said before walking away from him and Jesse. How could I have ever been attracted to Jesse? And how are creatures like Ralf even allowed to exist?

The rest of the classes that day went by uneventfully. I couldn't focus on anything in school particularly. All I could think about was the upcoming game, and truth be told, Dimitri. No matter what I was thinking about, my mind always found a way to relate it back to him; To his perfect figure, to his perfect hair, and to his perfect eyes. It was more than that though. It was the way he always believed in me no matter how badly I seemed to screw things up. It was how simply being in the same room as him made my heart speed up. It was the way his touch sent thrills of excitement though my body. And it was how comfortable I felt around him, as if we were destined to be together.

I am falling for my soccer coach. I can't deny it to myself any longer. No man has ever had this effect on me before. But at the same time, it's just some stupid crush that I have to get a rid of somehow. Dimitri is a 24 year old god who also happens to be my English teacher. There's no way he would ever get involved with me. Even if we did get involved, we could both get into a lot of trouble if our relationship was discovered. I could get kicked off the soccer team, and possible expelled from the school, while Dimitri would undoubtedly be fired.

Time seemed to fly by, and next thing I knew, I was standing in a huddle with the rest of my team. Our team, the St. Vladimir's Saints, is scheduled to play the DPG Mountain Rangers. Who the hell names a sports team as the "saints?" I guess mountain rangers is kind of a lame name also.

Alberta had already given us the starting line-up, so there wasn't much left to discuss. My eyes kept wandering towards Dimitri who would constantly give me reassuring smiles.

"3, 2, 1, Saints!" Screamed my team as we rushed onto the field to begin the game.

The referee blew the starting whistle and the game began. Mia passed to Carly who tried sprinting up the field with the ball on her own. Stupid decision. She turned the ball over almost immediately. As the offender came charging towards us, I noticed that the defense looked very unstructured.

"Move up!" I yelled to Erika, the left defender.

"Collapse in towards me!" I yelled to Katie, the right defender.

With Erika's new positioning, she was able to jump into the play and steal the ball from the other team. Unfortunately, she tried taking the ball up the sideline on her own and lost the ball immediately. Why aren't my teammates passing with one another?

An offender was suddenly attacking me, but I had to supress laughing at how slow she was. I mean really, after facing Dimitri all morning, the girls on this team seemed to running at the pace of snails. I effortlessly stole the ball from her and passed it up to Meredith who began an offensive play. As much as I hate to admit it, Meredith does a very good job controlling the offense. She doesn't hog the ball, and she makes very good choices on the field.

Meredith sent a beautiful chip over the other team's defense and Mia ran onto it.

"Run Mia! Go Mia!" Screamed the people from my bench, as well as audience members who had shown up to watch the game. Our team doesn't draw huge crowds, but each player normally has a friend or two that will come and watch them play. I had a personal cheering section. It was kind of embarrassing really. Lissa, Christian, Mason, Eddie, Adrian, and some other boys from the male soccer team had shown up to watch me and cheered every time I touched the ball.

Mia had caught up to the ball at lightning speed and was sprinting towards the goalie. She made a beautiful shot to the right bottom corner of the net. The freaking goalie saved it somehow.

"Dammit," I muttered under my breath as quietly as I could. Swearing can give you yellow and red cards in our league. I can't afford risking getting kicked out of a game.

The next fifteen minutes were very even, and neither team had managed to score. I had broken up a few offensive plays, but nothing too significant. Viktoria had only had to save a couple of easy shots that had been taken from far out.

Suddenly, Meredith lost control of the ball, and her defender swiped it away from her. The offender was charging straight down the middle of the field, and the left and right defenders both stayed in their positions assuming the other one would go in to intercept the play. That left it all up to me. The girl deked left and started dribbling right, but I had foreseen her move and managed to stay with her. She started doing some absurd looking 'fancy footwork,' and I promptly took the ball away from her. Unfortunately, when I looked up field, there was no one open to pass to.

"Pass it back!" Screamed Viktoria.

I turned around and passed the ball to Viktoria who booted it three quarters of the way up the field, where Mia was able to retrieve it and break towards the goal. A defender was tailing her, and cutting her off from getting to the middle of the field. Mia made a quick turning move and snuck around the backside of her defender and kicked the ball up into the top left hand corner of the net.

The audience started cheering, and my team all gathered around to high-five Mia. As happy as I was for her, the egotistical side of me couldn't help but feel annoyed that I never received that kind of appreciation for the goals that I had prevented from occurring.

No one was able to score for the remainder of the half. At halftime, Alberta continued lecturing us on strategy, and making smart decisions on the field. Halfway through her discussion, Dimitri pulled me aside.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Tired," I replied.

"That's what all the running we do is for. It is to prevent that from happening." He replied smugly. "You are playing a decent game. You are somewhat ensuring that the defense stays organized, but there are times that it is collapsing. You have to prevent that from happening. It is your job to take control of the situation and make sure everyone knows where they are supposed to be."

"Ok, I can do that." I replied.

"Good, go join the rest of the team then."

The team was just beginning to get back into a huddle. I quickly stepped in, and cheered again for the Saints before beginning the game.

The second half was mirroring the first half. It was a stalemate. No one could score. That was ok from our team's perspective considering we had the lead, but it would be nice to get another goal or two in.

An offender from the other team began charging towards Erika, and kicked the ball off of Erika and out, meaning that the other team was rewarded with a corner kick.

I scurried into position, and realized that the midfielders all had no clue where to go which seriously annoyed me considering we had just done this in practice.

I quickly started blurting out instructions to the midfielders and to the other defenders and got the defense set before the play could begin. The ball was heading right towards my region. I waited for the right moment, and quickly leaped up and headed the ball, clearing it into an open space where Meredith was able to pounce, and take the ball all the way up the field all on her own. She blasted by two defenders before the other team had even realized what was going, and cleanly passed the ball into the left hand corner of the net.

The audience started screaming again, and my teammates all sprinted to hug and high-five Meredith. Again, I found myself very annoyed that she was getting all the attention. My contribution of saving the ball from going into our own net is just as great as her actual scoring.

The game ended with a final score of 2-0.

"Decent game today girls," began Alberta during our post-game discussion. "But we still have a lot to work on. We need to start playing more as a team. We also need to start acting more like a team. You girls should all get to know each other better to help with the team relations. It may help you all learn to play with each other."

"We could have a team supper tonight," Proposed Dimitri who had been silent up until this point. "I would be happy to volunteer as being a driver, and I'm sure we will have no problem finding another teacher or two to drive out with us."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Said Alberta. "Girls, do you want to go out for supper?"

"Yes!" We all yelled. Going off campus was very rare during the school year. Our boarding school, St Vladimir's, is located in a very remote region of Montana. The closest city is at least a full hour away by car.

"Then it's settled. Coach Belikov and I will make all the arrangements. Everyone should meet in the school parking lot at 7 P.M. I know it will be a late meal for you all, but at least you will be hungry for it." Said Alberta.

After that, members of the team began heading back to their rooms. I stayed a bit longer to chat with Mia and some of the other girls.

"Good game today Rose," Said Dimitri, as he walked towards me. "Barely anyone was able to get by you. I think we have found you a new position to play in."

I groaned. "Oh Roza, you were a great defender. Even if you didn't have the whole team jumping on you like Mia and Meredith did after scoring, it doesn't mean that they didn't admire your playing. As well, it is important to remember that you are playing for the team. Not for your own ego."

"How did you know that was bothering me?" I thought I had done a good job keeping the annoyance off of my face.

"I just know," He replied softly. "So we have a lot to work on in our morning trainings. Now that I have seen you play in an actual game, I have a much better idea of where you need to make improvements."

"Looking forward to it comrade," I replied sarcastically.

"As am I," He replied sincerely, looking directly into my eyes.

"Rose!" I heard someone yell from the distance. It was Lissa who was sprinting towards me. With her were my other friends who had watched the game. "You were so good today!" She squealed.

"Lissa's right, you were awesome!" Added Eddie.

"You were ok I guess," Commented Christian with a smirk. "You didn't score though."

"Thanks for the obvious dumbass," I replied to Christian.

"Language!" Screeched Alberta from behind me. "You really have to get that mouth of yours in line Rosemarie!"

"Sorry, it won't happen again," I told her. She just shook her head disbelievingly and left.

"So Rose, I was thinking that maybe we could all hang out in my room tonight to celebrate your game! We haven't really seen each other since you started playing soccer again." Sais Lissa.

"I'm sorry Liss, the team is all going off-campus for supper tonight actually." I replied.

"Oh," She replied, trying to hide her disappointment. But I had known Lissa since kindergarten, and knew that she was really sad.

"Another time Liss, I promise." I told her. "It's not like I technically could have been seen in your room anyways since I am still on house-arrest. Although, today is thankfully my last week of it." Time had seemed to move really slowly over the past week. It's hard to believe that it had only been a week since I had punched Camille.

"I guess you are right," Said Lissa. "I guess Christian and I will just head over to the cafeteria for supper. Bye." Lissa basically dragged Christian away leaving me alone with Eddie, Mason, and Adrian.

"Rose, you are a pretty bad-ass soccer player," Said Adrian.

"I hear you aren't too bad yourself," I replied. "Eddie has told me that you will be a good addition to the team."

"Nah, Castille gives me far too much credit." He replied modestly.

"Yeah, you are probably right," I replied mischievously. Mason and Eddie snickered.

"You aren't supposed to say that!" Said Adrian, pretending to be mad.

"Rose just says what she wants to. You really can't hope to control her mouth." Said Mason.

"I'd like to control her mouth," Said Adrian suggestively. Why is he always so damn inappropriate?

"I bet you would," I replied in a slightly more flirtatious tone than I had intended for. I definitely had just given him the wrong idea.

"Yeah, but you never will!" Blurted Mason out of nowhere. I gave him a bit of a confused look since he knew just as well as I did that Adrian's flirting is harmless. Mason tried to keep his composure, but his eyes gave himself away. He really likes me! I think I have been underestimating Mason's feelings towards me. Sure, we flirt a lot, but I had never thought anything of it. I just haven't ever seriously considered Mason in that way.

"That's right!" I replied eventually. "Because Mason and Eddie will kick your ass if you ever try to," I replied, trying to break the tension.

"I don't doubt they will," He replied. "But I was thinking, that we should go out for a picnic sometime, since you will finally be off you house-arrest."

A picnic? How lame! And why did he have to ask me out in front of Mason and Eddie? His timing seriously could not have been worse. Mason's features tensed up as he waited for my response. I then noticed that Adrian was smugly looking at Mason. Maybe Adrian had purposely asked me in front of Mason. Aren't those two supposed to be friends? "Thanks for the invite Ivashkov, but I don't really do picnics," I replied eventually.

"Alright then, how about a movie in my room? You can't say that you don't watch movies. I assure you that I will be able to pick one out that you will enjoy." He said.

Can Adrian not take freaking hints? "I do like movies, sometimes," I replied. "And a movie sounds great! The four of us as well as Lissa and Christian can all hang out to watch it."

"Alright, a group setting, I can deal with that," Replied Adrian. "I look forward to it. I actually have to go, but I will see you later Rose." To my surprise he gave me a small hug. I immediately stiffened up and pushed him away. I then noticed that our little hug had attracted some attention. Viktoria was looking at me with a questioning glance. Mia was looking at me with excitement in her eyes, and then there was Dimitri. He was looking at me. I really had no clue what he was thinking. His face appeared emotionless, but every now and then his eyes would betray a hint of anger. He quickly looked away from me and glared at Adrian as he walked away.

"We also have to go Rose, I will see you later," Said Mason. Him and Eddie walked off behind Adrian.

"What was that all about?" Asked Viktoria. Mia was also looking at me, eyes burning with curiosity.

"Nothing really. He asked me out twice in a row and I basically rejected him both times, and then got rewarded with a hug."

"You are so lucky!" Exclaimed Mia. "Every single guy in this place seems to be in love with you! How come you never date people seriously? Mason is so in love with you, and he truly is a good guy. Why don't you give him a chance?"

The answer is simple. I don't feel anything for Mason romantically. He is a great friend, and I like spending time with him, but he doesn't truly understand me, and I don't truly understand him. We have fun together, but is that anything to really form a relationship on? Plus there is the slight issue of Dimitri. I am nearly positive that I would fantasize about being with Dimitri while being on a date with Mason. However, I obviously couldn't tell my friends any of this.

"I'm not sure really," I replied eventually.

"Well make up your mind already!" Urged Mia. "If I were in your place, I would date either Mason or Adrian in a second."

"Take my place then," I suggested. "Try asking one of them out."

"I can't do that!" Replied Mia. "They are both too in love with you to ever consider me as an option," She replied sadly.

I really did feel bad for her. Unfortunately, there wasn't really anything that I could do for her.

"Don't worry Mia, one of them will come around eventually," I replied.

Viktoria and I eventually headed back to our room after chatting for a bit longer. I quickly hopped into the shower, and blew my hair dry. Since Dimitri was going to be at the supper, I decided to make myself look good. I lightly applied some eye liner, and used a bit of white powder to make the corners of my eye pop. I also put on bright red lipstick to compliment the darkness of my eyes.

Content with my hair and makeup, I looked into my dresser, and found myself having a hard time picking out what to wear, which is pretty weird for me. Normally I will throw on whatever looks comfortable and worry about if it looks good later. But I can't help but want to look really good today. After a bit of consideration, I decided that a dress or skirt would be too formal for a dinner with the soccer team. I ended up wearing a red silky shirt that clung tightly to my curves with a simple pair of black leggings and boots. The outfit itself was very simple and casual, but did wonders for my body. It was perfect.

Viktoria and I headed towards the school parking lot to meet with the rest of the team. We ended up dividing up into groups of four in order to fit into the teacher's cars. The other teachers who would be driving were Mr. Alto, and Mr. Nagy. I hated both of them. There is no way in hell I will get stuck with them in a car for an hour.

As a result, I quickly pulled Viktoria with me towards Dimitri.

"I don't want to go with my brother," She complained.

"Would you rather go with Alto?" I questioned.

"Definitely not," She shuddered. She hated him as much as I did. "Dimitri it is!"

Mia and her friend Erika ended up joining us in the car.

"Shot gun!" I called.

Everyone else groaned. "I guess you will have to be faster next time!" I exclaimed playfully.

The moment that Dimitri closed the door, the scent of his aftershave consumed me. I could definitely think of worse things than spending time next to him.

Dimitri started driving, and turned on a radio station that sounded like it should have been broadcasted a century ago. The reception was fuzzy, and the music just sounded classically old.

"Would you mind playing something from this century?" I asked him.

He chuckled. "Roza, this music is only from the 1980's," he replied.

I found that hard to believe. "Well, that doesn't make it any better," I grumbled.

He didn't change the radio station. To annoy him, I convinced the other girls in the car to sing with me on the top of our lungs. He just shook his head at us. But I could see through him; he didn't actually mind our singing. In fact, it was amusing him.

"Comrade, I don't hear you singing!" I yelled to him.

"Ya Dimka, why do you always have to be so boring?" Asked Viktoria.

He ignored us. It surprised me that he didn't mutter something in Russian, but I guess he didn't because Viktoria would understand what he was saying.

When we finally made it to the restaurant, Boston Pizza, my stomach was loudly growling.

"Hungry I take it?" Asked Dimitri as we walked inside.

"Very," I replied.

"Well, you sure did work hard today. I told you that you wouldn't let your team now." He said.

"Thanks Dimitri. It truly means a lot." I told him.

The supper was actually a lot of fun. I got to know Mia's friend Erika a lot better, and chatted with some of the other girls on the team as well. We had just ordered our food and were excitedly talking amongst ourselves. That is, until an unexpected visitor walked into the restaurant. My fists clenched. She was wearing a shirt so tight that I was surprised her boobs weren't spilling out of it. Her curly red hair was tucked behind her ears, and her eyes were full of so much make up that she barely looked human.

"Who is that?" Asked Viktoria pointing towards the lady. "She looks like a freaking cougar!" She exclaimed.

Viktoria wasn't very far off in her observation. Following the lady was a man who looked to be in his early thirties. He was blond, and was wearing a very expensive looking suit.

"That," I replied, "Is my disgrace of a mother."

Viktoria eyebrows both shot up. "Whoa, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult your mom or anything, I just –"

I cut her off, "Relax Vika. She is a cougar. She leads on men all the time, refusing to commit to anyone. She has had so many flings in her lifetime that it would be a miracle for her to be able to remember the names of all the men she has slept with.

"Holy shit!" Exclaimed Vika suddenly. "Is that Janine Hathaway? The former striker of the Olympic soccer team?" She squealed.

"Unfortunately, yes." I replied.

My mother's gaze suddenly caught mine. I prayed to god that she wouldn't cause a scene here. She walked towards me, and brought her boy-toy along with her.

"Rose! What a pleasant surprise!" She exclaimed. As I stood up from my seat to lead her away from my group, she took in my outfit. "You look like a fucking whore!" She screeched, loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.

"Me? Are you kidding me?" I demanded. "Your tits look like they are going to explode out of your shirt at any moment! And who even is this guy that you are with? Another conquest?"

"How dare you talk to your own mother with that tone? And I don't have conquests! I have meaningful relationships, and Brad is no exception. He is a loving doctor whom I have been dating for nearly a month." She yelled.

"Hey Brad," I began. "Has my mother ever told you about the many men that she has hooked up with? Wait, no, she probably hasn't considering there is no way in hell that she remembers all of them!"

"How dare you?" Demanded my mother.

"Ladies, please quiet down or else we will have to escort you out," Said a waitress who was nervously looking at both of us.

"Shut up!" We both screamed at her. She walked away to find her manager with a terrified look on her face.

"Oh, and Brad, has my mother ever told you about how she abandoned me at the age of five years old? I highly suggest not reproducing with her anytime soon if you don't want to end up as a single father." I snarled.

Brad had stayed silent up until this point, and was nervously looking between my mom and I.

"Rosemarie! What the fuck-" began my mom, but a large man in a suit cut her off.

"Ladies, get out of my restaurant this instant!"

"Anything to get away from her," I muttered.

As the two of us were escorted out, Dimitri followed.

"Roza, relax. Let's go get you something to eat." Said Dimitri calmly.

"Sounds perfect," I replied.

Dimitri and I walked away from the restaurant without saying goodbye to my mom.

"Where would you like to go?" He asked.

"Doesn't really matter," I muttered.

"Are you in the mood for a burger?" He asked.

"Sure, that sounds good." I answered.

We ended up at a McDonalds. I ordered two big Macs with a large drink and fries. Dimitri also ordered food for himself.

"I'm sorry Dimitri, I didn't mean to prevent you from eating at the restaurant," I told him.

"Don't worry about me Roza," He replied instantly. "I don't mind."

We sat down at a table and ate in silence for a few moments.

"Are you going to talk about it?" Asked Dimitri eventually.

"No," I replied.

He didn't push any further, which I was grateful for. We didn't speak another word between then and when we finished our food.

"So we have at least another hour and a half to kill before the team finishes their meals," Said Dimitri. "What would you like to do?"

"I don't know," I replied.

We ended up just strolling along the road looking for a store or anything that caught our eye. In the distance, I could see a bright yellow sign flashing. As we got closer, I noticed that it read 'Larry's Laserama.'

"Dimitri, let's go play laser tag!" I said excitedly. I had never had the opportunity to play as a child, but had always wanted to.

He arched up an eyebrow. "Ok," he replied after a bit.

After paying, we were hooked up to our vests and instructed on how to play.

The game began shortly after. The arena was two stories high and had many hiding spots. Dimitri and I quickly scoped the place out looking for a good place to hide and tag our victims. We quickly decided on a spot on the second story that allowed us to peg victims on the first floor.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed someone invading on our hiding spot. "Dimitri!" I yelled. He quickly turned and helped me shoot at the boy who had tried to overtake our spot.

"Good work comrade," I told him.

The next ten minutes were a perfect time of shooting and fun. Dimitri and I left the arena talking excitedly to one another about the different shots that we had managed to make.

"The winner of this game," Announced the laser tag employee, "Is codename Hathanator!" He yelled with fake excitement.

I couldn't help but beam.

"The rest of the results are displayed on the television screen just above your head," Said the worker.

Dimitri was in second place, and had been very close to beating me.

"We make a good team comrade," I told Dimitri.

"We sure do Roza!" He exclaimed.

We still had another hour to kill before making our way back to the restaurant. We couldn't find anything else that looked particularly interesting in the city, so we made our way to a pretty looking park and sat down by a duck pond. On the walk there, the two of us had conversed non-stop, although we never mentioned the topic of my mom.

"This place is actually very beautiful," Observed Dimitri as he looked around the little park.

"It really is. There is something special about it. It seems like such a comforting and welcoming area." I told him.

He smiled at me with pride in his eyes. "I couldn't agree more. It actually reminds me of a little park that I used to spend time at in my hometown of Baia. I would always beg my sisters Sonya and Karolina to take me there so that I could feed the ducks, and go on the swings."

"Wait, are you telling me that Russia isn't just an arctic wasteland?" I questioned jokingly.

"It's actually really beautiful," He told me. "I really miss being there. I don't exactly regret taking a job here, but I always feel a sense of home sickness."

"At least you have a home," I replied as I looked down at the ground. "My mom raised me until I was five years old. She sent me off to boarding school as soon as she could. She told me it was for my own benefit, but that was bull shit. I was just holding her back from her career of soccer playing. She was only eighteen when she had me." I sighed.

Dimitri instinctively wrapped one of his arms around my shoulder. "I don't even know who my father is. Basically, my only family is Lissa. Her family has taken pity on me over the years and have welcomed me into their home as if it were my own. But it isn't mine, and never will be." I told him, still refusing to make eye contact with him.

"Fathers aren't always the heroes that you may believe they are," Began Dimitri.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Well, my father is a dick." He said quickly.

My eyebrows shot up. Dimitri Belikov just swore?

"He would come around my town once in a while and would meet up with my mother. He used her for sex. When I was thirteen, I discovered that not only was he disrespecting my mother, but that he was also physically beating her."

I quickly grabbed his hand. "What did you do about it?" I questioned.

"I beat him up," He replied.

"You beat up your dad when you were only thirteen? You are such a bad-ass!" I exclaimed.

"I only did what had to be done," He said. "I care about my mother and sisters so much. Imagine if it were Lissa that were being abused by a boyfriend. I know for a fact that you would do more to that boy than simply beat him up." He told me.

"Of course I would," I replied. "I can't just sit back and watch the ones I love be picked on and taken advantage of by others. That's why I got so mad at Camille the other day. I hate how people think that their actions are above consequences. Camille's family is loaded, and they donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to the academy each year. She knows for a fact that she would never be punished severely for anything." I complained.

"My father was a rich and upper-class businessman. He used to provide my mother with money to help take care of us. It was as if he felt like he could do whatever he wanted just because he had a lot more power and influence." Sighed Dimitri.

"This world is so fucked up," I muttered.

"I know," He replied. His arm was still around my shoulder, and he had pulled me even closer to him at some point. My hand on my other arm was interlocked with his fingers. He seemed to realize how close we had gotten also. I had expected him to push me away, but instead he snuggled me in even closer. I rested my head on his shoulder as he soothingly massaged my shoulder.

"You are so strong Roza," He whispered into my ear. Pulling away from my ear, he looked at me with a sly smile. "And I agree with Vika. You're mom totally is a cougar."

I couldn't help but laugh. I had never seen such an open and care-free side of Dimitri. I really liked this side of him.

"I just don't understand how she can go through life without ever building meaningful relationships with anyone. I've never been in a serious relationship before. But that's not because I don't want one. It's because I haven't met the right guy." Staring into Dimitri's eyes, I began wondering if he is the right guy.

"I know what you mean Roza. I dated one particular woman in the past, and it had gotten pretty seriously. But when you don't belong together, you just know it. But Roza, you are incredible. You can get along with nearly everyone that you meet, and you are vibrant and funny and interesting. Not to mention that any guy in the world would fall over simply by the sight of you –" He quickly cut off his words realizing what he had just implied.

"Like what you see comrade?" I asked playfully. I was dying for him to tell me that I was pretty. Guys call me hot and sexy and beautiful all the time, but it has never really meant much to me. Because just as Dimitri had discussed, none of them were the right ones for me. Dimitri is the first person I have ever met who takes relationships, and life, and soccer as seriously as I do. From an outsider's perspective, it may appear that I am reckless and carefree in everything that I do, when in reality I take certain things far more seriously than some do in their entire lives.

I could see a tortured look in his eyes as he debated what to tell me.

Instead of telling me anything, he pulled me in for a kiss. It was passionate, and furious, yet sweet and simple at the same time. His lips crushed into mine as his arm squeezed me in closer to him. His other hand started twirling my hair. I let my hands trail down his back, gently massaging him. A slight moan escaped me when he started rubbing his hands down my back. Every movement he makes with his lips and hands sends thrills of excitement throughout my entire body. After a few minutes he pulled away and pressed a light kiss to my forehead.

"You are so beautiful Roza. You are more beautiful than this park and Baia combined. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," He sighed.

My heart leapt at the sound of his words. I pulled him in for another kiss, but he broke it off far too quickly. "Roza, we have to go. People are going to be wondering where we went." He said.

Dammit, people. What the hell did this mean for Dimitri and me? I couldn't tell a soul about what had just happened! Not even Lissa. It just wasn't worth the risk.

He held my hand until we made it out of the park, but dropped it shortly after. We didn't say very much on the walk. No words were needed to express what we were feeling. He openly gazed at me throughout the walk, and rubbed his arm against mine whenever possible.

The rest of the team was waiting outside of the restaurant.

"There you are!" Exclaimed Vika. We have been waiting for you for at least ten minutes! Where did you go?"

"We were playing laser tag," I answered quickly. "And I kicked his butt!"

"What? No you didn't," Began Dimitri. Vika just laughed.

"Rose, here is the food that you had ordered," Called Mia from behind, handing me a to go order of a large cheese pizza.

"Awesome, thanks Mia," I told her.

"No problem Rose," She replied innocently.

"Everyone ready to go?" Asked Alberta.

"Yes," We all replied.

The drive back home was nearly silent. None of the girls dared bring up my experience at the restaurant. As for Dimitri and I, what were we going to say? I have no clue what is going to happen with us. All I know is that he made me happier than anyone ever has before. No one else in the world could have left me in as good a mood after the scene with my mom at the restaurant.

When we got back to the academy, I headed back to my room and immediately tried to go to sleep. This had been one exceptionally long day.

* * *

**So, a lot of stuff just happened. What do you think is going to happen with Rose and Dimitri? What about Rose's mom? Do you like the idea of her being a slutty former soccer player that tends to show a few similar characteristics to Rose?**

**Also, was the scene of the soccer game detailed enough for you? Was it possibly too detailed? Was it easy to follow what was going on? Please answer these questions if you want me to keep writing. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

I woke up bright and early the next morning, excited to see Dimitri. I hadn't been able to actually get very much sleep last night. I kept thinking about the warmth of Dimitri's lips. I was also worried that he was going to tell me that everything had been a mistake. I know Dimitri well enough to realize how much honor means to him. I also know that he likes working at the academy. Would Dimitri actually put his career on the line for me?

After getting dressed and ready, I made my way down to the cafeteria. To my surprise, Dimitri was in there eating some fruit and a bagel. I have never seen him in here during breakfast.

What am I supposed to say to him? Would it be appropriate to sit with him for breakfast? The cafeteria was completely empty aside from the two of us at the moment, but what if someone walked in and saw us eating together? That would be kind of weird considering we are supposed to be nothing more than student and teacher. But maybe the onlookers would understand since he is also my mentor, and it seemed silly to eat at separate tables alone.

My nerves were killing me at this point. Dimitri was engrossed in a western novel, and only looked up from it to take small bites of food. Would he even want me to sit beside him? He seemed content as he was, and probably didn't want me to endanger his reputation by sitting with him.

Just as I readied myself to bolt from the cafeteria altogether, Dimitri turned around. He gave me a warm smile, and looked at me questioningly for simply standing near the door without moving to get food. Oh yeah, food, the reason that I am here. I probably look like an idiot right now. I quickly grabbed a plate, and loaded it with eggs, toast, and bacon. I would have preferred waffles and donuts, but figured that Dimitri would give me a nasty look for eating something so unhealthy before training. As I looked up from my food, I realized that Dimitri was watching me. When I met his eyes, he didn't break contact like he normally did in these situations; rather he continued looking at me, with obvious affection in his eyes. I decided that it would be silly to sit away from Dimitri at this point, so I propped my tray down across from him.

"Good morning Roza," He sighed in a husky voice. The voice that I imagined would come out of him after just waking up in the morning.

"Good morning Dimitri," I replied, still gazing into his beautiful eyes. "I'm surprised to see you here though."

He chuckled. "I do need to eat at some point. I guess I normally come here earlier. I kind of figured I would catch you here though if I ate later." His gaze quickly left mine and he looked down at the table. "Well, assuming you want to see me at least. I don't have to eat now-"

I cut him off. "Of course I want to see you." I replied. "I thought I made it pretty clear last night that I like being with you," I told him flirtatiously.

"Really? It's just that, I thought you were going to realize how stupid what we did was. You could be kicked off the soccer team. It's hard for me to believe that I am worth risking your future over," He told me meekly.

"Dimitri, I would risk nearly anything for you. I haven't known you for very long, but I already know you better than I know half of my friends whom I have known since elementary school." I was getting nervous again by this point. He hadn't rejected me yet, but he hadn't outright told me that he wanted to be with me. "I have never felt like this about anyone before," I told him, after finally bringing up the courage to do it.

His eyes lit up. "You really feel that way about me? I mean, I am seven years older than you. I'm surprised that you don't think of me as an old man or something."

"Old man?" I couldn't help but laugh. Sexy man was more like it. "I'm just surprised that you don't think of me as a baby or something." I told him.

"You are definitely not a baby," He told me.

"Dimitri, would you really risk your job for me?" I asked him after a moment of silence.

He thought about his words for a moment before replying. "Yes, I would." He told me.

"You don't actually like this job, do you?" I asked him excitedly. How had I never really noticed this before? Just this morning I had believed that he really enjoyed his job, but I had been blind. Dimitri wants to be a head coach for a professional team in the future, and here he is being the assistant coach to a high school team, while teaching English. There is no way he is satisfied being an English teacher. "You are just too scared to leave, because you don't know what the future holds."

Dimitri's eyebrows shot straight up. "How do you know these things about me?" He questioned, almost nervously. "But to answer your question, I do not care for this job very much, although you clearly didn't need my conformation on that. I just don't know how else I am going to make a living." He replied sadly.

"When was the last time you applied for any other kind of job? Have you ever applied to be the head coach of any team before?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No, I don't have any qualifications. This is only my first year coaching a team. And I'm not even the head coach of it," He sighed.

"Take more control than," I urged him. He normally didn't act very much like a leader at practices. He seemed more content to observe and discuss his ideas with Alberta later. "Be the leader of this team. All of the girls literally love you already," I spit out before thinking about my words. I really need to stop doing that.

I had caught him by surprise again. "Why would they?" He asked eventually.

"Are you actually asking that comrade?" I replied teasingly.

He still looked confused. "Yes," He finally replied.

He is so oblivious. Does he not understand how good looking he is? Does he not understand how cool it is that he used to be a professional player?

I know that giving him a subtle answer would be smart, but I generally have a very hard time with subtlety. "They think you are a god Dimitri. You have been a professional before which is really cool, and your looks don't turn them away either."

He seriously looked shocked by this point. "Dimitri, if you were feeling insecure before about whether the girls like you or not, then don't be anymore." I told him.

"Are you sure Roza?" He asked finally. "Because none of the girls ever seem to talk to me. I have caught a few of them watching me before and then giggling when I noticed. It's like they were making fun of me or something. On the other hand, the girls all talk to Alberta so openly, yet with a lot of respect as well.

I couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked very confused by my outburst. "Did these girls happen to also be tossing their hair and winking at you while looking at you?"

"I don't know," He replied. "I didn't really notice."

"That's because you are oblivious!" I exclaimed. "Who knows how many girls have hit on you, trying to elicit a reaction out of you unsuccessfully, because you are too blind to notice the most obvious attempts of flirting!" I exclaimed. I decided that he needed to hear it how it was. Dimitri wouldn't let something like this go to his ego. Rather, he would probably be embarrassed by all of the attention.

"They flirt with me?" He exclaimed. "I'm their teacher! Why would they-" He cut off his words, realizing that this put us in an awkward situation. "That's not what I meant," He said quickly. "Blindly flirting with a teacher is different from what we have."

"Is it?" I asked him. I still couldn't help but feel insecure about everything.

"Yes, it is a world of difference!" He exclaimed. "I can never stop thinking about you Roza. Every moment I get to see and talk to you is like a blessing. I know that I should push you away. I know that what we are doing is beyond inappropriate. But I also know that I will never be able to forgive myself if I let you go."

My heart felt like it was going to burst. I had of course been experiencing the same feelings, but I had never expected for Dimitri to have been feeling the same. I wanted to lean in and kiss him more than anything. Seeing as we were in public, that clearly wasn't an option. Shit, this relationship is going to be challenging. Dimitri was clearly sensing my inner dilemma.

"Roza, we have to be really careful if we want to make this work. Sitting together for breakfast may even be too risky. I don't know how we are going to get time alone together."

"Well there is this clearing in the woods that is normally abandoned. That is, until a certain Russian happened to find it," I began teasingly, referring to the night of the party.

He looked pained by my words, and I instantly regretted what I had said.

"We are not going there." He said nearly immediately. "Even then, on the night of that party, on the second night of knowing you as my student, I was left feeling heartbroken when I saw you with Jesse in such a compromising position."

"Comrade, you have to know that it meant absolutely nothing. Besides, kissing Jesse was like kissing a dog. It was as if he were senselessly drooling in me." I shuddered at the memory. "Kissing you on the other hand was like magic. Please don't feel bad, or jealous, or anything about what I did with Jesse."

"I don't know how we are going to make this work Roza," He sighed, without making eye contact. His words sent pain throughout my entire body. "I want to kiss you so badly right now, but I can't. Who knows how long it will be until I can show you how much I want to be with you? I can barely even be seen talking to you."

"We will find a way to make this work. We have to." I replied with more confidence in my voice than I had expected there to be. "We just have to be smart about it."

"You really are just as smart as you are beautiful Roza. I read over your English paper on _The Great Gatsby_ the other day. It was insightful and beautifully written. Don't let the other teachers ever imply that you aren't smart, or anyone else for that matter."

"Tell that to Mr. Alto," I grumbled.

"Well, Mr. Alto is an ass," He replied with a smirk.

"Woah there, two swears in two days? This must be some kind of record!" I teased. "Maybe I am rubbing off on you. I will have you dropping F-bombs in no time!" I joked.

"Don't hold your breath on that one," He replied.

We both laughed. Being together like this, I wondered how I could have been so nervous around him before.

"Roza, we really should get to training. We are pretty late already." He told me.

"Wow, now you are showing up to practice late!" I exclaimed, teasing him again.

"I got a little distracted," He told me leaning in closer towards my face. Instinctively, he reached out and cupped my cheek with one hand, and played with my hair in the other one. This would look really bad if anyone were to look in. I quickly pushed him away, although everything in me was screaming at me for doing so.

"Sorry," He said immediately. "I shouldn't have done that."

"You lose control, don't you?" I asked him, excited by yet another revelation about him. "You put on this tough emotionless mask on your face, and you treat everyone with too much respect and grace to actually be human. It's all some attempt to stay in control."

He sighed again. "It scares me how you do that," He told me. "Guessing things about me all the time. And I have had no trouble keeping control normally. You just bring out the hidden parts of me whenever we are together."

"What were you like when you were younger?" I asked him. "Were you like a popular guy in high school? You probably were actually. You were probably the captain of every sports team imaginable who had the entire school drooling by the mere sight of you. And did you go to parties and stuff?" I asked him excitedly.

He laughed. "I wasn't popular. I was just good at sports. If anything I was more of a nerd than anything since I always took school work really seriously. I had one very good friend, Ivan Zeklos, who was very popular, especially among the girls. I knew him from soccer. We're actually good friends still. As for parties, I didn't really go to many. I never really knew what to say to anyone. They just made me feel uncomfortable."

"You probably felt uncomfortable because you had been unable to pick up on all of the attempts of girls trying to flirt with you," I told him teasingly.

He just shook his head. "We really should go Roza. Aside from you losing out on valuable training time, students are going to being arriving for breakfast at any moment. It's probably best that we aren't seen eating together."

"Fine," I told him reluctantly. We made our way out to the field, and he quickly told me to run laps. Although this time, he told me that he would run with me. By this point, I was running three miles in 15 minutes which was a huge improvement from where I had started. Soccer is an exhausting game. You really need to be in good shape to ever be good at it, and I was ecstatic that my running had improved so quickly. Maybe I still had hope for receiving a scholarship.

"I want to see a recording of one of your games," I told Dimitri as we were running. "I would love to see you play."

"I'm really not that good Roza," He replied modestly.

"Shut up! I know that you are a bad-ass soccer player so don't even try to deny it."

He smiled, but didn't reply. I guess I would have to go looking for a video of Dimitri playing on my own. It couldn't be too hard to find.

When we finished running laps, Dimitri decided to work on my chipping with me. He demonstrated the motion a couple of times, and gave some helpful tips that made the kick a lot easier. By the end of practice, he had me shooting balls up and over his head with nearly perfect placement.

"You really are a good teacher," I told him at the end of practice. "Take leadership at a practice. The team could really use the help."

"I will consider it. You should get to class. You have a very important class during first period this morning." He said with a smirk.

"Right, a very important class," I replied sarcastically. "It's ok, I'm happy to just gaze at the sexy teacher the whole time."

"You are going to drive me crazy in class, aren't you?" He asked playfully.

"I will do my best comrade," I told him before walking off.

I showered off quickly and rushed over to Dimitri's class to ensure that I didn't get there late. I knew that he would never punish me or anything for it, but I didn't want to annoy him, or take advantage of him in anyway. I took my normal spot next to Lissa. When she turned to me, she looked pissed.

"Rose, why is it that I had to hear from Viktoria that you ran into your mom yesterday? We are supposed to be best friends. You are supposed to tell me everything!" She exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry Liss. I was just so tried after everything, so I went to sleep." I replied.

"You are always tired," She complained. "And could you not have given me a simple phone call?"

"I really am sorry Lissa. I guess I just wasn't thinking." I told her.

"Anything else that I should know about?" She asked angrily. "That you have been too busy to tell me?"

My heart broke for her. There was no way I could tell her about Dimitri. I just couldn't risk it.

"No, there's nothing else," I told her.

"Hey Rose," Said Mason as he walked into class. "Has Ivashkov asked you out again since yesterday? That boy is so determined to get in your pants, it's unbelievable," He muttered.

Lissa angrily turned towards me. "Adrian asked you out? And you didn't think to tell me. After I directly asked you if anything else had happened!" She exclaimed, a little too loudly. Dimitri's head immediately turned to me, but I tried to give him an 'it's nothing look.' He already had heard that Adrian had asked me out, and that I had rejected him. I guess he just couldn't help but react to the sound of my name mentioned with another boy. It actually made me happy that he had reacted in the way he did. He really cares about me.

"Oh my god, Liss, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think of that." I told her honestly. "It must have slipped my mind somehow."

"Adrian freaking Ivashkov asked you out and it just slipped your mind?" She demanded. "Why did you reject him even? Any girl at this school would die to be in your position."

"I just don't feel that way about him," I told her.

"It hasn't stopped you before," She muttered.

"Well maybe I have changed," I told her. "Maybe I am looking for something actually serious for once!"

Lissa still looked pissed, but suddenly a hint of smile formed on her face. "Who is it?" She exclaimed. "Who is it that has Rose Hathaway this smitten?"

"There's no one," I replied dumbly, but Lissa clearly wasn't buying it.

"Is it Mason?" She asked excitedly. "I have always thought that you two would be cute together." She turned around and directed my gaze to Mason who was playfully waving at me, and forming a heart with his fingers. Dimitri must have somehow caught onto it and glared at him. I tried to give Dimitri a 'stop that!' look without being too obvious. Eventually he turned his attention back to whatever it was he was doing before on his desk.

"It's not Mason," I told her quietly. "It's not anyone. I told you that already."

Lissa looked saddened. "I just don't know why you are holding out on me. We used to tell each other everything. Do you not trust me? Because I know there is definitely something going on with you."

"Of course I trust you!" I exclaimed. "You know, we should have a girl's night, with just the two of us. We haven't seen nearly enough of each other lately." I said quickly, trying to change the topic.

Lissa's face lit right back up. "Of course we should do that! I can do your nails, and makeup, and we can catch up with each other!" She squealed. "So how was your encounter with your mom?"

"Viktoria didn't tell you?" I asked, surprised.

Lissa shook her head. "Basically, she called me a whore, and I gave her date reasons not to date her any longer. And then we both got kicked out of the restaurant. It was brutal."

"We have to talk about this more later," She said. I nodded my head in agreement.

Dimitri started class shortly after that. I couldn't help but find myself locked in his gaze every now and then. I noticed at one point that Adrian was shooting me a very confused glance as he looked between Dimitri and I. Shit, this wasn't good. How could we be so obvious? This was only our first day of actually being together, and Adrian had already picked up on something. Thankfully Lissa hadn't noticed anything.

When class ended, Adrian waited for me outside the door. He quickly pulled me aside. "You like Belikov!" He exclaimed quietly. "I can't believe I didn't notice this before. You really should give me a chance though. He is your teacher Rose! Nothing is ever going to come of it. Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone about your little crush. So, do you want to watch a movie, with just the two of us at my place tonight?" He asked.

I couldn't believe him. One moment he was acknowledging that I like someone else, and the next he was asking me out. "Adrian, I thought I had made it pretty clear already that I wasn't interested. I really want to be your friend but-"

Adrian cut me off. "God Rose, you are being so stupid right now. Belikov is way too respected and controlled to ever consider you as anything more than a student. When you finally come to your senses, I will welcome you in with open arms. But I can't stand by and watch you lust after this guy! It breaks my heart," He told me earnestly.

"Adrian, I'm really sorry. And I'm not lusting over Mr. Belikov! That's ridiculous!" I lied, fairly convincingly. Although it made me feel guilty to see the look in Adrian's eyes. Maybe his feelings for me were a bit more serious than I had thought they were.

Well, I thought I had been convincing with my lie at least. Adrian just shook his head in response and walked away. How could Adrian have picked up on so much? Dimitri and I had only shared a slight look with each other. Dimitri and I were going to have to be even more careful than we initially thought we were going to have to be.

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**Hey guys, so I thought this would be a good time to address some of the reviewers. So there have been a few reviews that have suggested things that I shouldn't include in the story, as well as predictions about the story. **

**One is that I don't include Tasha in the story. At this point I don't plan on including her in the story. There are so many fanfics already that include drama as a result of her, and I would like my story to be a bit different, and cause conflict in other ways.**

**One is that Rose shouldn't date Mason or Adrian or anyone else**** since it's obvious that she will end up with Dimitri in the end. After this chapter, it's clear that that isn't going to happen.**

**And there was the prediction that Dimitri would push rose away as always. I decided not to do that since it would be obvious that they would get together anyway. Also, there aren't as many obstacles between the two of them in this story as there were in VA, so it's a bit more realistic that they get together more easily.**

**Also, there's some mixed opinions on Janine. I can honestly say that I'm still unsure of what exactly I want to do with her character. Reviews on whether you like her character or not, and why would be amazing.**

**So thanks for the reviews guys, they give me a lot to think about and consider. More of them would be very appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

**As usual, thanks for the reviews. I'm happy that you guys were happy with characters and plot lines that I am leaving out.**

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**Chapter 8**

The next three weeks seemed to pass by in a blur. Dimitri and I still hadn't found somewhere to spend time alone with one another, but we were still able to act flirtatiously and intimately with one another so long as no one else was around. We had stolen a few kisses here and there, but not very many considering the risk of getting caught. Soccer was also going very well. Our team had only lost one game. Natalie had also transferred to a new school which helped the team. My running and skills had improved immensely. I was back to being the best player on the team. After demonstrating leadership time after time again at games and practices, Alberta had announced me to be the new team captain. Meredith had been extremely pissed, but hasn't lashed out at me in any way.

The outdoor season is rapidly coming to a close since it gets too cold out to play in the winter. Every year, the season is ended with the state qualifier competition that is hosted in Helena, the capital city of Montana. This tournament qualifies teams to participate in the national qualifier during the spring season. The top eight teams in this tournament will qualify. The tournament should be a lot of fun. We get to miss school on Thursday and Friday just to play soccer, and to hang out with the other team mates. The boys' soccer team is also going which means that I can hang out with all as well. We even stay in a hotel there that has a large pool and waterslide. Since the day that Alberta announced that we would be participating in the tournament, I have been trying to figure out ways of sneaking in alone time with Dimitri in his hotel room. So far, I haven't had very many ideas. It would be a lot easier if I just told Viktoria about the two of us since she could cover for me, but she may not be so supportive of the idea of me dating her brother.

Lissa and I had also built our friendship back up again. We didn't see each other as often as we used to, but we dealt with it. She was busy with Christian all the time anyways, so it wasn't like she was ever alone. Although I hate to think of what will happen if and when she finds out about Dimitri.

Shit, I am late again. Dimitri and I have been having breakfast together at extremely early hours. That way, we can get at least an hour together each day without having other people around. I had told Dimitri that I would meet with him at 6:00 A.M., and it was already five minutes passed that. I rushed towards the cafeteria, and smiled when I saw Dimitri sitting there. I have seen him every day for the past three weeks, and I still can't help but smile when I catch sight of him.

"Good morning comrade," I yelled from the opposite side of the room.

He smiled at me, but didn't bother to yell back. I quickly grabbed some pancakes and bacon for breakfast and took my normal seat beside him. Dimitri had started bringing his little whiteboard with him so that we could pretend he was coaching me if anyone came into the cafeteria. That would explain not only why we were sitting together, but why we were physically seated so close to one another. We had picked a table that gave us perfect visibility of the front door, but we were far enough away from it that we would appear to be simply blurry figures to whoever had just walked in.

"Good morning Roza," He sighed as he grabbed one of my hands under the table. The two of us had also gotten used to eating our meals with only one hand. The other hand was always occupied.

I quickly scanned the room, and gave him a quick peck on the lips when I was satisfied that no one was present. His lips instantly responded, and returned the kiss. Of course, we had to pull away only seconds after making the initial contact.

"I have some good news Roza," he began. "There is apparently some guest housing on the outskirts of the campus in the case that a family member would like to stay overnight at the academy. I may have stolen the key to one of these rooms the last time I was in the office," He told me mischievously. "I would like to make dinner for you tonight. You can tell your friends that I wanted to train with you since the tournament is coming up soon. That is, if you want to at least." He said nervously.

"Of course I want to!" I replied excitedly. "I can't believe you still doubt my feelings towards you. All I have wanted for the past few weeks was to spend some time with you without worrying about others being around."

He smiled, and squeezed my hand. "Good, let's meet at 6:00 then."

After breakfast and my normal training with Dimitri, I headed over to class.

"Hathaway!" Exclaimed Mason as I walked in. "There is going to be another party tomorrow night!"

Wow, were these guys really stupid enough to do this again? "Where?" Was all I asked. I didn't want to act like a party pooper.

"On the campus borders, right behind guest housing. No one is ever in those places anyways, and I will make sure that students take different routes to get there so we don't get caught again." He replied.

They were still pretty likely to get caught. I would have to warn Dimitri later on that we weren't the only ones who had thought of taking advantage of the abandoned area. "I guess I will go," I told him. I didn't plan on drinking anyways, so I didn't really see any harm in showing up. The worst that could happen was that the party got busted, and that I would be sent back to my room or something.

"Awesome," He told me with a wink. "I will have to keep a closer eye on you this time. I won't let you out of my sight," He told me flirtatiously.

"It's ok Mason, I can handle myself," I told him, slightly annoyed. I know that he means well, but I really don't want to lead him on any more than I have already.

"From what I heard, all you handled at the last party was Jesse's-"

I cut him off instantly. "Ew, Mason. I told you that we didn't go that far."

"Are you telling me the truth Rose? Because just the other day in practice, Jesse was bragging about going all the way with you."

That lying bastard! How dare he? I am going to kick his ass for this. That is, if Dimitri doesn't do it first. If he ever catches wind of this rumor, there will be hell to pay.

"He's lying! Dimitri caught us before we did anything." I exclaimed. "Not that we were going to do anything anyways," I quickly added.

Mason looked at me doubtfully. "I don't know Rose, don't take this in the wrong way or anything, but his story isn't that hard to believe. You were pretty trashed that night. I won't think any less of you if you did do anything. You weren't yourself."

"Mason, I did nothing! Yes, we hooked up and got pretty close, but we never had sex. And we never will!" I exclaimed.

Mason still looked dubious, but he was at least considering my words. "If Zeklos is lying, I will beat him up for this." He said finally. "Maybe I will look into this for you. I will see what I can get out of Jesse."

"Thank you Mason," I told him appreciatively. I know that the only reason he would do this for me is because of his feelings for me which makes me feel guilty. But I can't reject him until he makes a serious move.

"Anytime Rose," He responded with a smile. "I would do anything for you," He told me solemnly.

I smiled in response, but felt uncomfortable by his words. I did not deserve his affection. I just wish his crush would go away because he deserves so much better than me.

The morning classes seemed to rush by fairly quickly, and I found myself in the cafeteria with the normal people. Although this time, I was surprised to see that Jill, one of the sophomores on the soccer team, was sitting at the table with Christian. Lissa was shooting her death stares.

"Hey guys," I said casually as I took a seat at the only spot left, which happened to be beside Adrian.

"Rose, you look great today!" Exclaimed Adrian as he slung an arm around me. I gave him a glare in response. He simply shook his head as he scanned the room for Dimitri. He then looked surprised about something. I turned to where he was looking, and found that Dimitri was glaring at Adrian. Shit, this isn't good. All Adrian knew before was that I had some weird crush on him. Maybe he is figuring out that there is something more to it. I pray to god that he isn't. Oh no, Mason is also glaring at Adrian. This is really not good!

Adrian hasn't asked me out again since our first conversation about Dimitri, but he still flirts with me daily. I figure that he knows that he has no chance with me, and that he does it simply to bother me. I really don't appreciate it, and I make it clear that I don't.

"Hands off the merchandise," I growled.

"You? Merchandise? As if," Exclaimed Christian as he cracked up laughing.

Adrian innocently removed his arm and carried on with a conversation that he had been having with Eddie.

I was eager to ask Christian what Jill was doing here, but figured that she would become self-conscious if I asked. After all, she is only a sophomore who is eating lunch with some of the best looking guys at the academy. However, Jill is very pretty. She has green eyes and light brown hair that can't seem to control itself. When she fully grows into her features, she is going to be a big heart breaker.

The rest of the day passed, and I found myself growing more and more excited for my date with Dimitri. A date! Who would have ever thought that this would have been possible?

I showered, and then worked on my hair and makeup for a bit.

"Who are you trying to impress?" Asked Vika as I madly scrounged around in my closet for an outfit to wear.

"No one," I replied. "I just want to look good."

Viktoria looked like she doubted that one. "I have to go meet up with some friends. I will see you later," She told me as she rushed out the door. As I had expected, Vika had fit in very easily at the academy. She was very similar to me. She liked to flirt around, but she had no interest in hanging out with girls like Camille. She was happier to hang out with more easy going crowds.

I was quite relieved that Vika had left since it would have been have been challenging to explain why I wasn't going to supper since it was obvious to her at this point that I wouldn't be playing soccer. I hope she doesn't talk to Lissa or my other friends at some point tonight. That will pose a bit of a problem with my lie that I had already told them about training with Dimitri.

At 5:45 I left my room, determined to be on time. I couldn't afford to waste a single second of alone time with Dimitri. I quickly made my way to the outskirts of campus without running into anyone. I made it to the small cabin that Dimitri had told me to meet him at. I knocked at the door, hoping that he would be there already. Dimitri answered the door immediately. The scene before me in the cabin was breathtaking.

The table was set with candles and an elegant red tablecloth. The table was filled with salad, steak, potatoes, and some kind of black bread. The lights were dimmed, and Dimitri stood before me holding a bouquet of flowers.

He shyly held out the flowers indicating for me to take them. "They are beautiful," I exclaimed as Dimitri shut the door behind me. "And they aren't even roses!" I exclaimed happily. They were some kind of purple flower. Whatever they were, I loved them. After putting them in a vase on the table, I launched myself into Dimitri's arms.

"I missed being with you like this," I sighed as he squeezed me against his warm body.

"Me to," He murmured softly.

I reluctantly let go of him as he led me towards the table. The food was delicious.

"What is this stuff?" I asked, pointing towards the bread. "It's delicious!"

"That's my mama's recipe for black bread. She taught me how to make it when I was young." He replied.

I couldn't help but giggle when he referred to his mom as mama. He truly is adorable.

"I can't believe you can cook this well! Is there anything you can't do?" I questioned playfully.

"Lots," He responded automatically. He is so modest. He is like god reincarnate in everything he does. "How was your day Roza?" He asked affectionately.

"Not so good," I replied. "Apparently Jesse has been telling everyone that we went all the way on the night of that party. I guess it doesn't matter. People already think that I have sex all the time anyways," I said sadly. It was amazing how open Dimitri and I had become with another in such a short time. I really felt like I could talk to him about anything.

Dimitri growled in response. "Who does this kid think he is?" He barked. "I will beat him up for this!"

"No, Dimitri, it's not worth it. Mason is already investigating into this for me." I told him as calmly as I could.

He looked slightly satisfied by this, but not entirely. He eventually let the subject drop.

After stuffing myself with the delicious food, Dimitri put on a cheesy looking romantic movie. It didn't look like something I would ever watch by choice, but it didn't matter. There was no way that I would ever focus on any movie with Dimitri this close to me. He had his arm wrapped around me, and he was constantly kissing my cheeks and hands.

"Comrade," I whined teasingly. "I'm never going to be able to focus on the movie with you like this."

He smiled in response, and wrapped me up in both of his arms. "That's ok with me," He replied playfully.

I simply couldn't resist him. I locked both of my arms around his broad shoulders as I gazed into his eyes. We both leaned in at the same moment, and quickly found ourselves furiously making out. Our lips sucked at one another aggressively while our hands roamed around the other's body. My hands were both playing with Dimitri's hair while his were slowly trailing down my back.

We were so close, but I needed more of him. I probed my tongue lightly on his lips, asking for entrance which he gladly accepted. We let our tongues sensually touch at each other for a few moments, before exploring further. Quickly, we found our tongues battling for dominance as we both drew ourselves together even closer.

I started trailing my hands up and down the front of his shirt, and he let out a pleasured moan. I slipped a hand under his shirt and felt his hard abs. As I quickly placed my other hand under his shirt, he pulled away from me.

"Roza, I don't want to do anything that you're uncomfortable with," He began.

"I want this! I want you more than I could have ever imagined wanting someone in my entire life." I replied, still locked in his deep gaze.

"You're young Roza, you aren't even eighteen yet. This isn't even legal." He said sadly.

"I don't care about some stupid law. All I care about is you!" I exclaimed.

"I don't think we should rush into things," He said softly.

"Do you not want me?" I demanded.

"Of course I do!" He responded almost instantaneously. "I just don't want you to regret anything. I don't want to be some mistake that you will reflect on in a few years from now."

"A mistake? You are the best thing to have ever happened to me!" I replied. I quickly drew him in for another kiss which he eagerly accepted. However, this kiss was a lot softer than the previous one had been. He lightly trailed his fingers in my hair and neck. After affectionately kissing at my closed lips, he started trailing his lips down my neck giving the occasional nibble. I moaned in pleasure as he made his way down. I tried urging him to keep going down lower, but he seemed content to kiss at my already exposed skin without going further. Damn, we definitely aren't doing anything tonight.

He slowly made his way up to my lips, and moaned when he re-established the contact. Eventually he pulled away. "You are perfect Roza," He murmured softly. "I can't imagine being without you."

His words thrilled me and sent shivers throughout my body. "You are the reason I get up with a smile every morning now," I told him. "I can't remember ever being as happy as I am with you." I murmured softly.

He smiled at me, and brought me back into another hug. Our moment was broken by a scream coming from the television. It turns out the scream was one of pleasure coming from the lead female who was in bed getting very intimate with her boyfriend. I tried arching my eyebrow, unsuccessfully of course, at Dimitri for having chosen this movie.

He growled something in Russian as he turned back towards me. "Sorry, I didn't realize that there would be any of that." He said shyly.

I laughed and hugged him again. I wasn't going to let some stupid scene from a movie make this date awkward. He started twirling my hair around as he trailed light kisses around my head. We sat together like that, simply pleased by the other's presence for I don't even know how long until he finally pulled away.

"We should leave," He sighed. "We don't want anyone getting suspicious."

I knew he was right, but I still didn't take my arms away from him. Instead, I tried pulling him in for another kiss which he returned, but he pulled away quickly.

"Don't tempt me Roza. I could stay here all night if you keep doing that to me," He told me with a warm smile.

"In that case," I began as I pulled him closer again.

He laughed and slowly pushed me away. "Come on, we can come back again some other day. Maybe tomorrow?" He suggested.

I was about to tell him yes when I remembered Mason's party. "Actually," I began. "There may or may not be a party that is going to be held in this area in the evening tomorrow evening," I told him playfully.

"Alright, I will simply pretend I heard none of that," He replied quickly. As a teacher, it was of course his job to break up gatherings like this one. "Just don't get into any trouble Roza." He told me sternly. "If you are going to drink, at least be smart about it. Don't let me find you in as awful a state as you were last time." His eyes were filled with concern.

"Comrade, I promise I won't get into any trouble for once. I'm not planning on drinking at all." I told him honestly.

"Good," He replied.

We slowly made our way out. When I returned to my dorm room, Viktoria was there doing some homework.

"Where have you been?" She asked. "Lissa told me you were at soccer, which doesn't really make any sense considering the way you were dressed before. I didn't say anything to her because I figured that you had some good explanation for yourself, and you better."

Oh shit, what am I going to tell her? I stayed silent for a moment as Viktoria watched me. I am normally excellent at bullshitting my way out of things, but I simply can't think of something reasonable to say at the moment.

"You know what, never mind. I guess it's none of my business. But if you were with some boy, then just be careful." She replied. Vika really is awesome. Unlike Lissa, she doesn't feel the need to know everything about my personal life. She is content with simply knowing that I am ok.

"Don't worry about me Vika. It really was nothing," I replied with as much confidence and sternness in my voice as I could muster.

Viktoria looked back at me with an amused expression. "You know, you really aren't a very good liar. I don't know how Lissa and Mason and your other friends fall for your bull shit all the time. Because you really do bull shit a lot." She said with a chuckle.

Damn these Belikovs. Why are they all so perceptive? Getting a lie past Vika seems as impossible as it would be to get one past Dimitri, although I plan on never lying to him at this point.

Viktoria didn't push for any more information, and we spent the rest of the night excitedly chatting about the upcoming soccer tournament and Mason's party. Eventually we went to sleep.

Before I knew it, I found myself getting ready for the party with Lissa and Viktoria.

"Rose, you should totally wear this!" Exclaimed Lissa as she pulled out a tiny skirt.

"Maybe not tonight Liss," I replied as I opted for a simple pair of jeans. It was kind of cold outside tonight anyways.

"When did you get so boring?" Muttered Lissa.

In the end, I paired my jeans with a very simple blouse that didn't reveal very much. It wasn't like I had anyone to impress.

Viktoria on the other hand put on a very short and revealing black dress. It looked exactly like what I would have worn a year ago to a party like this. I smiled at her mischievously.

"Scoping out some guys tonight?" I teased her. She didn't deny it.

Lissa put on an elegant sundress that showed off her slim and perfect body. I swear Lissa can pull off wearing anything.

"Can I at least make your hair look interesting?" Asked Lissa. I decided there was no harm in that, so I allowed her to.

The three of us headed off to the party, and were careful to take a detour in order to avoid raising suspicion. When we got there, I was unsurprised to see that the party looked exactly the same as the other one. Most of the people there were drunk already. Viktoria quickly scurried off and started talking to a tall blond boy. She hurried back to us with him.

"Rose, this is Nikolai." She said excitedly.

I smiled back at him in response. He appeared to be a nice guy so far. I gave her a questioning glance, but she shook her head.

"Do you want me to grab you something to drink?" Asked Viktoria.

"No thanks," I replied politely. She gave me a strange glance, but left to go get some kind of alcoholic drink.

Lissa stood beside me stunned. "You just rejected a drink? What is happening to you Rose?" She exclaimed. "This is just so unlike you!"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't want to risk getting drunk enough for it to affect my soccer tomorrow."

"But you don't even have a game tomorrow! Or a practice for that matter! You just have training, and you do that every morning anyways." She replied.

"I know. I still don't want to risk it." I replied lightly. "Since when do you play devil's advocate anyways?" I asked. "It's not like you're drinking."

"Maybe I will drink tonight," She told me defiantly.

"Ok, just be careful Liss. Christian will be here shortly, and I'm guessing that he won't be pleased if you are already wasted by that point." I told her.

"Relax Rose, I'll be fine." She replied. I still couldn't help but worry about her. Lissa is very fragile and sensitive. I just don't want her getting hurt. So many guys in this crowd are going to try to take advantage of her. I can't believe I am thinking this, but I can't wait for Christian to get here. He will take care of her.

As the party continued, I found myself hanging out with Eddie most of the time. He had opted not to drink very much tonight either, and we spent most of the night making fun of the many drunken people around us. I had been to many parties like this before, but I had never been to one sober. It was a very different experience. Instead of participating in everything, I was observing.

Eddie and I eventually decided to go for a bit of a walk. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the back of Viktoria's head. She was hooking up with someone. I couldn't figure out who the guy was since there were many trees obstructing my view. I decided not to interrupt since it would only piss her off, and not stop her from actually doing anything anyways. She can be just as stubborn as me.

As we continued walking, we passed more couples who were hooking up. I can't believe that I was one of these people a few weeks ago. How could I have let myself go like that?

We decided to head back to the party since we were sick of seeing people sucking each other's faces off. Just as we were getting back, I saw Adrian around the corner making out with Jill Mastrano of all people. When Eddie turned to see who I was looking at, he smirked when he realized it was Adrian. But then his face fell when he realized that Adrian was with Jill. I think there is a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

"Eddie, do you want to-"

He quickly cut me off. "Whatever, it doesn't matter," He said quickly. We didn't speak another word until we got back.

When we made it back, Mason rushed towards us. He had clearly been drinking again.

"Where have you been?" He asked. "I have been looking all over for you! Especially you Rose," He slurred.

Eddie smirked for a bit before going back to being upset. Mason and I chatted for a bit more until Lissa and Christian came up to talk to us. To my relief, Lissa didn't seem drunk at all.

"Christian, glad you could make it," I told him sarcastically, although in truth I was thankful for his presence.

"A pleasure to see you as always," He replied with just as much sarcasm. I couldn't help but laugh. I actually am pretty surprised that Christian showed up. He is a bit of a loner and has never fit in with big groups before. There is no way he would be here if it weren't for Lissa.

I felt a buzzing in my pocket, and picked up the phone, and was surprised to see that I had a text from Dimitri. I quickly shielded my phone from my friends, and opened the message. It read, 'The staff has realized that there is a party going on. I, as well as some other teachers are heading up to break it up. I would leave immediately if I were you.'

I quickly texted back and told him, 'thanks. Will do.'

"It's getting pretty late," I began casually. "I think we should all head back to our rooms."

Everyone laughed, but then they realized that I was being serious. "Rose, it's only 11:00," stated Lissa.

"I know, I just think we should get going," I told them. They all gave me strange looks. Damn, there is no way that they are going to leave already. It's not like I can tell them that Dimitri gave me a warning. I gave up on them and went to find Viktoria. There was no way I could allow Dimitri to find his sister in the position that she was in. When I found her again, my jaw must have dropped. Shit, they are nearly naked. The boy only had his boxers left while Viktoria had a bra and panties left. I was going to have to suck it up and break this apart.

"Vika, what are you doing?" I demanded.

Viktoria looked startled by my presence while the boy that she was with looked pissed.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded. The he took in my appearance and his expression changed. "Care to join us?" I would have slapped him if Vika hadn't beat me to it.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Demanded Vika.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I replied.

Viktoria was about to come up with what I assumed to be a nasty response when a look of fear came over her face. It was like she was experiencing the same 'Oh shit' moment as I had the other day when I had been caught with Jesse. As I turned around, I realized why. Dimitri's tall figure loomed over me. Boy, did he look angry. He was angry when he caught me with Jesse, but his expression then didn't even come close to comparing to the one he held at this moment. Maybe it was because he wasn't trying to keep his emotions off his face for once. He had every right to be angry to find his sister in this position.

"Who are you?" Boomed Dimitri.

"Rolan," Replied the boy. Getting a closer look at him, I realized that he admittedly was hot. He had messy brown hair, and a killer body.

"If I ever catch you with my sister again-" Threatened Dimitri.

"Understood sir," Said Rolan. Unlike Jesse, he wasn't a coward who simply ran off. He took his time getting dressed. He even had the nerve to wink at me as he slowly buttoned up his shirt. I didn't think it was possible for Dimitri to have gotten any angrier, but he had in that moment.

"Get out of my sight this instant!" Growled Dimitri. Rolan nodded his head, and simply walked off seeming unfazed. How could he look so relaxed about this? Dimitri appeared to be absolutely terrifying.

"I should go," I began. I didn't need to be with Dimitri and Vika at the moment.

"Please stay," begged Viktoria who clearly didn't want to be alone with her brother at the moment. She was definitely still pissed at me, but not permanently angry. She had also probably realized by this point how much of a jerk Rolan was. If she was anything like me, she would never admit it, but she was probably happy that I had broken the two of them up.

Dimitri looked at me. I knew he wanted to ask me what I was doing here, but he decided against it. He didn't want to appear friendly with me.

"Get dressed Vika," He said quietly. Viktoria quickly threw on her clothes.

"Are you drunk?" He questioned immediately.

"No," She replied.

"Tell me the truth!" Growled Dimitri.

"I swear it, I'm not drunk."

"Then why would you do something so stupid? I have heard of this kid Rolan before. Apparently he spends even more time in detention than Rose!" Dimitri must have quickly realized that his comment was quite insulting to me, and recovered. "And he is in detention for doing actually bad things. He has been accused of rape before for god's sake! If his family wasn't so rich, there is no way he would be at our school at the moment."

Viktoria looked surprised. "I didn't know that. I swear I didn't. I wouldn't have done anything with him if I had realized."

"You did something with him?" Demanded Dimitri.

"No! No, nothing more than what you just saw." She responded nearly frantically.

Dimitri didn't look like he was buying it, but I shot him a look that told him that Vika was telling the truth. "Get back to your room," He muttered eventually. While Vika was standing up, Dimitri quickly whispered to me that he would be texting me about this later on tonight.

I really need to stop coming to these parties.

* * *

**So why do you think Jesse is spreading rumors? How do you think Dimitri will react to Rose? Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**So this chapter contains somewhat of an M-rated scene. It is clearly marked for those of you who don't want to read it.**

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**Chapter 9**

Vika and I walked back to our room in silence. This wasn't a comfortable silence. Although, it wasn't really an awkward silence either. It was an 'I have nothing to say to you,' silence. Neither of us felt like chatting after the night's events, and I was sure that Dimitri would give her more lectures than she could ever need on acting more responsibly in the future, so I decided not to bother with the lecture either. It would also be pretty hypocritical to accuse her of anything she had done tonight since I had done basically the same a couple weeks back.

When we got back to our dorm, I sat on my bed, and checked my phone, carefully shielding its screen from Vika. There was already a text from Dimitri. It read, 'Why do the most important women in my life keep ending up with dicks at these stupid parties?'

I chuckled again by Dimitri's use of the word, 'dick.' It was just so unlike him to swear, yet he seemed to be doing a lot of it lately. I quickly texted him back with, 'Don't worry about Vika, she will be fine. She didn't know what Rolan was truly like. As for me, I thought you were over the incident that happened at that last party. Are you still mad at me about that?' I really hope that Dimitri isn't still mad about how stupid I had been that night.

My phone quickly buzzed. 'I'm not mad at you Roza. What were you even doing with the two of them anyways?' He asked.

'I had seen the two of them together before I got the warning from you about the teachers busting the party. I decided to break the two of them up before you showed up. I knew that you wouldn't want to see Vika like that.' I replied.

'You were definitely right that I didn't want to see that. Why didn't you stop her from doing anything in the first place?' He questioned.

'She is just as stubborn as I am. Nothing I could have said would have actually changed her mind about what she was planning on doing. I'm sorry Dimitri. But you have to let Vika be herself. She isn't going to do something like this again, and that's what really matters in the end.'

It took a moment for Dimitri to reply this time. His response surprised me. 'I suppose you are right Roza. It just hurts to know how set she was on hooking up with Rolan.' I hadn't been expecting him to relax this easily.

'It hurts me too. I care about Vika a lot. Rolan actually had the nerve to ask if I wanted to join them when I tried to break them apart. If it makes you feel better, Vika slapped him.'

Dimitri's reply was instant this time. 'Her slapping him makes me feel a lot better. I can't say that hearing about other guys hitting on you makes me feel very good though.'

"Rose, who are you texting?" Questioned Viktoria. I was surprised she was acknowledging my existence. "You are more focused on your phone at the moment than I have ever seen you be before."

Am I really that obvious? I guess I have been clutching onto the phone and checking the screen every few seconds for Dimitri's reply.

"No one really. Just Lissa and Mason," I quickly replied.

"Since when do you and Lissa text?" Asked Viktoria. "Normally you guys just talk on the phone."

"Well, we are texting now," I replied quickly.

"Let me see your phone Roza," Said Vika playfully. "I want to know once and for all who this guy is that you have been seeing. You are so obviously head over heels for someone right now. I can't believe that Lissa and the others haven't noticed the change in you!" Exclaimed Viktoria.

No Vika, you really don't want to know who the guy is. Viktoria would kill me if she found about Dimitri and I.

"I don't know what you are talking about," I replied. "Why are you talking to me anyways? I thought you were ignoring me or something." I added, trying to change the subject.

"Well, I'm not really mad at you. I just needed some time to cool off, and to sober up for that matter. You were just trying to help me. I can't believe how stupid I was tonight," She moaned.

"I know exactly how you feel Vika. Don't worry, you will get over it quickly." I told her reassuringly.

"I hope I do," She replied.

I checked my phone again, and realized that I had forgotten to reply to Dimitri. 'I only want your attention. Trust me when I say that I really don't enjoy when guys who aren't you, flirt with me.'

"Rose! You have that look in your eye again! Someday, I am going to figure who your mysterious lover is." Exclaimed Viktoria.

I automatically shielded the screen on my phone when Vika had talked to me which really didn't help my case.

My phone loudly buzzed again, and Viktoria pointedly looked between my phone and I. It took all my will power, but I didn't pick up the phone or look at the screen. Viktoria looked at me quizzically.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" She asked.

"Eventually," I said as casually as I could, shrugging my shoulder like I really didn't care that much. She just laughed at this.

"I'm tired, goodnight Roza. Just try not to keep your phone on for too long. I don't want the sound of its buzzing to keep me awake." She eventually said.

As she turned to start getting changed, I quickly picked up my phone. 'Good. I just wish that all the boys on this campus knew that you were taken.'

'Dimitri, it doesn't matter what they think. All that matters is that you mean more to me than any other man has before. I actually have to turn off my phone. Vika has been very perceptive and seems to have somehow figured out that I have been sneaking around with someone. We have to be super careful around her. She noticed my texting and declared that she would eventually find out who my mysterious lover is.' I responded. I don't know how to make Dimitri understand how seriously I take our relationship. He always seems to doubt my feelings towards him. I also felt like I really needed to let him know that his sister is on to us.

My phone buzzed. Vika, who was just slipping under her covers, glared at me. 'You know, we are going to have to tell Vika eventually. She is my sister. I tell my family everything. I hate lying to her.'

'I know exactly how you feel. I have never kept anything from Lissa before. I even feel guilty keeping Viktoria out of the loop. We really have grown close already.' I told him.

'I'm happy that you and Vika get along so well.' Replied Dimitri, effectively changing the topic.

'Goodnight Roza, I don't want to keep you awake any longer. Breakfast at the normal time?' Read another message that he sent.

'Yes. Goodnight Dimitri.' I told him, turning off my phone after sending off the text. I wish I could just sneak out and spend some time with him right now. It would be easy to sneak into Dimitri's room unnoticed by the academy's staff and security. However, it would be practically impossible to get past Vika.

I slipped into my pajamas, and ended up going straight to sleep.

I quickly got up the next morning, excited to spend some time with Dimitri. I entered the cafeteria and was surprised to see that Dimitri wasn't the only one in there. For some reason, Jesse and Ralf were in there as well, talking loudly and obnoxiously.

"Sleeping Beauty awakes!" Proclaimed Jesse. "I wouldn't expect to see you at such an early morning the night after a party. I mean, we all know what you are like at parties." Jesse wasn't even trying to be quiet at this point which was really stupid of him considering Dimitri was now glaring at him.

"Actually, you have no idea what I am like at parties!" I replied. "You are so stupid! How could you lie to the entire school about sleeping with me?"

Jesse attempted to act like he was surprised by my accusation, but failed miserably considering the evil glint in his eyes. "But we have sex. Do you do that with so many guys that you can't even keep track of how often it has happened? I'm not lying about anything. Maybe you had even more to drink than you had realized." He replied snarkily.

I had been so in control of my emotions lately, but I simply couldn't take it anymore. "I don't need you to tell me how many people I have slept with!" I yelled. I swung back my arm and punched him right in the eye. He fell to the ground, clutching at his eye. "And for your information," I hissed. "I'm a virgin. So stop acting like I am some kind of whore!" I had never minded the fact that everyone thought I had sex all the time before, but it is beginning to really bother me.

Dimitri had of course ran towards us at this point. As a staff member, he would be obligated to report this to Kirova. If he didn't, Jesse would get extremely suspicious. Dammit. This isn't even my fault!

"Get up Jesse, Ralf can walk you down to the infirmary. While Rose will not escape this incident without punishment, neither will you. Your words have consequences, and Rose admittedly had very good reason to lash out at you."

Jesse quickly nodded his head, terrified of Dimitri. Although unlike the night of the party, Dimitri wasn't particularly being terrifying. He was doing his best to at professionally. His emotions were completely shielded from his face.

However, as Jesse left, Dimitri's emotionless mask disappeared. It was replaced by one of concern and anger.

"Roza," He sighed. "You need to quit getting yourself into these situations. You know that I would never want to get you into trouble, but I don't know how I can avoid reporting this incident. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be sorry!" I immediately replied. Dimitri looked very surprised by that comment. "Did you think I was going to be angry at you?" I asked playfully. "I had already figured out that you wouldn't be able to completely cover for me."

Relief seemed to fill within Dimitri. "Good. I really wish I didn't have to though. I hope Jesse's eye stays black for the rest of the year. He deserves it." Dimitri's brown eyes were filled with rage at this point.

"Is this how it felt?" I asked Dimitri quickly. He gave me a confused look. "When you beat up your dad I mean. All I wanted to do in that moment was make Jesse pay for treating me so terribly. No wonder you beat up your dad if he was treating your mother like that or worse for years," I sighed.

He paused before replying. "Yes Roza, I suppose you must be feeling the same way as I did. But all this anger, you have to just let it go eventually. Staying angry isn't going to ever make you happy."

"You are such a hypocrite!" I exclaimed. "You give me all of these life lessons, when you don't even follow them yourself. You haven't let any of the anger towards your father fade!"

At this moment, Dimitri looked like nothing more than the vulnerable thirteen year old version of himself. I hated seeing him like this, but I have to somehow show him that he needs to stop pushing away his feelings, and actually confront them for once.

"I'm not going to tell you that you should ever associate with your dad, or forgive him even for that matter. However, I do want you to quit thinking about him." I told him sternly.

"He was so terrible to my mama!" He moaned. "It's my fault that I didn't notice that something was off earlier. And why didn't my sisters notice anything? Why hadn't someone put a stop to everything a long time ago?" Dimitri and I have been opening ourselves up to one another, but he had never let me in like this before. I knew before that he was angry at his father, but I had never realized how tortured he was by everything.

I pulled Dimitri into a tight hug and sensually massage his neck and shoulders. I let my head rest on his chest as he rested his chin on the top of my head. Occasionally, he would twirl a strand of my hair around his finger, but he was fairly motionless aside from that. I would have happily stayed with him like that all the day, but we were still standing in the middle of the cafeteria so I slowly pulled away from him. Then, I had an idea.

"Let's ditch practice this morning comrade. We can make it up in the evening. Let's just go for a walk and find some place that is private."

I fully expected him to protest, and I had already prepared responses to the many protests that he would make, but to my surprise he nodded his head in agreement. We silently walked towards the south end of campus which is filled with trees and beautiful clearings. We ended up setting down together in a simple grassy area. It wasn't exactly the picture of a romantic getaway, but it didn't matter since I was with Dimitri.

It was a very warm day outside, and the sun felt beautiful. I quickly slipped out of my warm up jacket and pants, and Dimitri followed suit. We ended up sprawling out on the ground. I rested my head on Dimitri's shoulder as he protectively wrapped his arm around me.

"You're so beautiful Roza," He murmured as he turned to gaze into my eyes. "And you understand me better than anyone ever has before. I have never been so vulnerable, yet comfortable around anyone before." He told me meekly.

I pulled his lips to mine and slowly kissed at his delicate lips. They tasted like chocolate. "Mmmm," I sighed as I pulled him even closer.

"Since when does the Russian health freak eat chocolate in the morning?" I teased him when I pulled away.

He innocently shrugged his shoulder as if he didn't know what I was talking about. His smile was radiant. I swear it is brighter than the sun.

**M Scene Starts:**

"Deny it all you want comrade, but I would love to get another taste of it," I moaned as I pulled him close again. Our kiss wasn't nearly as soft this time, and it was quickly picking up in intensity. His tongue started flicking along the outside of my lips, and just as I was about to let him in, he pulled his lips away and began kissing down my neck. Some of his kisses would be comprised of little nibbles, and flicks of his tongue. Sometimes he would be more aggressive and suck at the skin while roughly gripping onto me. One of his hands began pushing away the straps of my tank top which allowed him to ensure that no spot along my neckline was left untouched.

I loved the feeling of his touch, and burned for more. I reached under his shirt and started rubbing at his perfect abs and chest as I pulled his lips back towards my own. He moaned as my hands made their way up to his shoulders from under his shirt. Eventually, I began pulling the shirt up and over his head. His hands quickly reached under my shirt as he made his way up. I moaned as he caressed and touched me. As I tried to help him rid me of my top, he pulled back.

"Roza," He began, his voice husky from being out of breath.

"Please," Was all I could manage to reply with.

"Are you really sure? I overheard you telling Jesse that you were a…" He paused, not wanting to say the word.

"Say it Dimitri. We can't be together if you aren't even comfortable talking to me about this." I replied seriously.

"A virgin," He muttered as his cheeks started beating red. How can a man this sexy lack so much confidence?"

"Do you like that I am a virgin?" I asked him needlessly considering I knew his answer.

"Of course I do," He replied huskily as his eyes openly explored my body.

"Then I don't see a problem," I told him quickly as I straddled his lap and pulled his lips to mine. I could feel his desire as he grew hard beneath me, and I rubbed my core on him which made us both moan.

"I just want to do this right." Moaned Dimitri as he somehow pulled away. Maybe I need to give Dimitri's self control around me a bit more credit than I normally do, since no amount of will power that I could muster would have made me break that kiss. "We're in the middle of a field. I want you to be somewhere more romantic and meaningful."

"I'm with you Dimitri! That's all I will ever care about." I exclaimed. I then realized how true my words were. It would be nice to have a bed, or to be in some beautiful area, but in the end, all that matters is that you are with the person you love. Shit, did I just admit to myself that I love him? It seems really early to tell him about the depth of my feelings. But at the same time, shouldn't I be able to tell him anything if we are this close to becoming intimate?

I never had to tell him anything because his lips came crashing back to mine. He laid me down on the ground as he got on top of me and finally removed my shirt. He kissed my body everywhere, and my skin tingled beneath his every touch. He lifted my back up for just a moment to remove my bra. As he started kissing and exploring the newly exposed area, I began rubbing my hand along the front of his pants and felt as he became even harder.

"Roze," He moaned, in between kisses.

I removed his shorts and boxers and was welcomed with a beautiful sight.

Suddenly Dimitri started muttering something in Russian and then told me, "I don't have protection."

Dammit, I hadn't thought of that. I'm not on the birth control pill or anything. Still, I couldn't just leave him hanging, so I brought my lips down to him and pleasured him until he began his release.

"That was amazing," He moaned as he started kissing me again. His hands made their way down to my shorts, and he spent the next half hour pleasuring and pleasing every inch of my body.

**M Scene Ends**

"I love you Roza," Sighed Dimitri as he gazed into my eyes. Neither of us had dressed yet, and out bodies were fully entwined with one another. "I love you so much it hurts. I promise I will always be here for you. I promise I will always protect you."

Tears of happiness threatened to spill over, but I held them back. "I love you too Dimitri. I can't imagine my life or my future without you being in it."

After holding onto each other and kissing for another few minutes, we began to get dressed since we both had to get to class. I have Dimitri's class first this morning, and I'm not sure how I am supposed to sit in the same room as him, pretending that he is nothing more than my teacher and mentor.

We held hands until the last moment possible, and separated ways before heading back to class. I had to get changed anyways.

I walked into Dimitri's class, and took my normal seat and chatted with my friends until he began the class. By this point, Dimitri had undoubtedly talked to Kirova about what had happened with Jesse. Speaking of Jesse, he isn't in class right now.

About a half hour later, there was a knock at the door.

"Rose, pack your binder and supplies, and come with me. You have some serious explaining to do." Hissed Kirova just as Dimitri opened the door for her. Shit, how much trouble am I in this time?

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**Just a recap for those of you who didn't read the M-scene, Rose and Dimitri did not go all the way, but they still became very intimate with one another.**

**So, Rose is in trouble again. Do you think she is going to be punished seriously? Or will Dimitri's influence and Jesse's stupidity keep her safe this time?**


	10. Chapter 10

**As always, thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate each and every one of them!**

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**Chapter 10**

Kirova sat at her desk, glaring at Jesse and I. He was still clutching an ice pack to his eye, which made me far happier than it should have. That punch will teach him not to mess with me.

"Rosemarie, I warned you earlier in the year that you could not afford to step out of line again." Began Kirova.

"And I didn't!" I replied, interrupting her, which only earned me another glare.

"Miss Hathaway, how is punching a boy not an infraction?" She questioned.

"He has been torturing me all week! He is a lying brat who thinks he can get away with treating everyone around him like shit!" I exclaimed. "Someone had to stand up to him. God, you authorities are so hypocritical. All you ever do is urge us to stand up to bullies. I stood up to him, and look where it landed me!"

I really was angry. Words would have done nothing to Jesse. He would have just kept on bothering me. But maybe now he will be too scared to screw with me again.

"We never instruct students to act violently towards one another," Replied Kiorva predictably. "You are to use your words to sort out your issues. Luckily for you, Mr. Belikov bared witness to the event and told me that Jesse truly had been acting inappropriately. However, this does not justify you punching him!"

Jesse still hadn't said a word. He didn't even flinch upon the mention of his name.

"Your lapse in judgement will result in a month's worth of detention with Mr. Alto. He needs someone to help him organize and clean his classroom, as well as marking multiple choice questions. You will report directly to his class after the afternoon bell, and will leave only when he gives you permission to." Stated Kirova firmly. "Be thankful that I am being so lenient with you. You were very close to losing your spot on the school soccer team."

Detention with Mr. Alto? How cruel could she be? I wish it could have been detention with Dimitri. That would have actually been a great excuse for spending time with him. I suppose I am appreciative that she didn't remove me from the soccer team, but I am still really angry since I don't feel as if I actually deserve to be punished.

"As for you Mr. Zeklos, if I am made aware of inappropriate behavior from you once more, you will be joining rose in detention. Now get out of my office! Both of you! I sincerely hope that we do not have to meet again under similar circumstances."

Jesse and I immediately rose from our chairs, wanting to get out of here as quickly as possible. The moment that we got out of her office, Jesse sneered at me.

"Did you actually compare me to a bully in there?" He snarked. "You are such a little bitch. You think that you can just walk around this place like you own it, getting everyone to side with you. You have everyone under some fucking spell. But I know the truth about you. You are nothing more than a cheap whore!"

"Jesse," Growled a looming figure from behind me. "That's no way to treat a woman. It figures you would treat her like shit since you are just a piece of shit yourself."

"Ashford," Growled Jesse, glaring into the eyes of my savior. "You're just jealous of me for getting in her pants. Everyone knows you get a hard-on after even the slightest glance of her," He taunted.

Mason flushed for a moment, but quickly recovered. "You didn't get in her pants. You are nothing more than a fucking liar!" He shouted.

"You think you can tell me who I have and haven't slept with?" He demanded in response. "I get it now though. You're just mad because you have never even been with a girl before."

"Really? Are you now trying to tell me who I have and haven't slept with? And at least I don't go around verbally abusing woman in the hallways." Exclaimed Mason.

Jesse curled his fingers into a fist. "Fuck you Ashford. You are nothing more than a lame clown with that ridiculous hair of yours. And you are so stupid, the way you go after Rose. I meant what I said earlier. She is a dirty whore."

"Language!" Screeched Kirova who was sprinting towards us at this point.

Lame clown? That had to be the worst comeback I had ever heard. I couldn't help but laugh at his comment since it was so stupid. As for him calling me a whore again, at least Kirova was here to witness it.

Mason didn't find it very funny though. He rapidly punched Jesse in the stomach. Jesse quickly reacted and started swinging towards Mason's face. Jesse's attacks were very clumsy though. Mason had so far effectively shielded his face

"Stop this immediately!" Yelled Kirova.

But they weren't going to stop anytime soon. And there was no way that Kirova would put herself in the middle of this battle. Jesse had now landed a hard blow on Mason's chest, but Mason was still determined to keep fighting. I couldn't let this continue. I couldn't let Mason get injured. So I did the only thing that I could think of doing. I reached my leg in, and kicked Jesse in the balls as hard as I could.

"Agghhh!" Screeched Jesse who fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

"The three of you, get to my office now!" Screeched Kirova.

And that is how I ended up right back in Kirova's office after only five minutes. This must be some kind of school record.

"Zeklos, you are hereby suspended for a week. You are also prohibited from attending the soccer team's state qualifier this weekend. As for you Ashford, you will be required to attend detention for the rest of the month. Rose will already be working with Mr. Alto, so I supposed you can serve detention with Mr. Belikov. He will probably have a few odd tasks that need to be completed." Said Kirova.

Dammit! Why did Mason get Dimitri for detention? At least Jesse won't be around to ruin this weekend's soccer. Eddie will also be ecstatic that Jesse won't be present to ruin the team's spirit.

"As for you Rose, your previous punishment still simply stands. I feel no need to punish you further."

The three of us left her office. Jesse glared at the two of us, but even he wasn't stupid to say anything else.

"My hero," I swooned for Mason. I really don't like it when people think that I need to be stood up for, but Mason's actions were noble and kind.

"I'm here for you whenever you need me Rose," He replied earnestly. He actually blushed a little bit. It is making me feel really guilty at the moment that I have to hide my relationship with Dimitri from him. He has no way of knowing that I am unavailable at the moment.

"Thanks Mase," I replied casually. "I really have to get back to class though. Mr. Alto's class started at least ten minutes ago." I quickly waved and ran off to my next class of the day.

Lunchtime came around fairly quickly, and I was excited to get something to eat. On my way in, a familiar figure slung his arm around me.

"Adrian," I hissed as I shooed him away.

He gave me one of his classic innocent victim looks before removing his arm.

"Shouldn't you be with Jill?" I asked him.

"Nah," He replied casually.

"So what then? You just had a one night fling with her? Jill is just a young girl! How could you take advantage of her like that?" I demanded. Adrian has always been annoying and inappropriate, but I have never seen him be anything but kind and loving. I just can't believe that he would treat Jill like shit.

"Calm down Rose. She was the one who had wanted to hook up with me. She told me that she wasn't interested in seeing me anymore after we hooked up. Why does everyone always think that it's the guy's fault?" He asked.

Jill initiated the hook up? Innocent and shy Jill? I guess you can't judge a book by its cover. That is assuming Adrian is telling the truth at least, but I really don't think he is lying.

"Oh, I'm really sorry then Adrian. No one deserves to be treated like that. Well never mind that actually, some assholes like Jesse have it coming for them, but nice guys like you don't deserve it." I told him sincerely.

He smirked. "Thanks Rose. But I will be fine. It's really not a big deal. She is more like a sister to me than anything else anyways. I guess I just wanted to do something to get my mind off of you." He told me, in a very serious tone. His green eyes were blazing down into mine. The issue is that unlike Dimitri's gaze, Adrian's had very little effect on me.

"Adrian, I'm really sorry. It's just, you have to know that I don't feel that way about you."

"I know," He replied to me automatically. "You have fallen so hard for Belikov that it's a wonder the two of you can be in the same room as one another without completely giving yourselves away. Well, to most people you don't give yourselves away at least. I am really perceptive. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your little secret, but you really should tell Lissa at some point. She would never betray your secret. "

I was left staring at him with my mouth agape. How the hell does he know so much about me? How could he know that Dimitri and I were seeing each other? Maybe I can just deny being in a relationship with Dimitri to Adrian. It isn't like he has solid proof or anything. But maybe I shouldn't deny it since he won't believe me if I do.

"Ok, thanks for not telling." I eventually told him.

"I just wish I could find a connection with someone the way that you and Belikov have. No one around here even takes me seriously."

"Aww, Adrian. You are such a sweet guy. And don't let this get to your ego or anything, but most of the girls here already find you attractive. You just have to be patient. When the time is right, you will meet your perfect girl." I told him, automatically pulling him into a hug. His hug didn't send chills through my body like Dimitri's would have, but it was still nice to feel the warmth and protection of another. Adrian really has become a good friend, and I really want him to find happiness with someone.

"Rose, can I speak to you for a minute?" Asked a beautiful Russian voice from behind me. I reluctantly pulled away from Adrian and walked towards Dimitri. Adrian gave me a knowing glance before walking off.

"You and Ivashkov are growing pretty close," He commented roughly. I swear that there is an edge of jealousy in his voice that he is doing his best to hide. But he should know better than to try hiding something from me.

"Yes comrade, Adrian is becoming a really good friend." I replied back to him. "He is a really nice guy once you get to know him."

"I suppose it is not my position to judge him," He replied to me. "As long as spending time with him makes you happy."

"Adrian does make me happy, but nowhere near as happy as you have been making me," I whispered, not wanting to be heard.

He smiled. "Anyways, I was going to ask you if you would be interesting in training this evening to make for lost time this morning." He smirked knowingly.

"I will lose time with you anytime," I whispered back to him flirtatiously.

He smiled and shook his head at me. "Meet me on the fields after Mr. Alto lets you out of detention. Just text me when you are ready."

"That sounds good," I replied. "And thanks again Dimitri for everything."

"Roza, it is you who I need to thank for everything," He sighed before walking away. I wish we could just have a normal relationship, one where I could have given him a kiss goodbye. Although, thinking back to Adrian, I guess I am lucky to have found love in the first place.

Wow, I'm really hungry. I need to get some food already. I got to the cafeteria and loaded my tray with chicken nuggets, salad, and donuts, and then took a seat beside Lissa. My choice in food had become slightly healthier on account of Dimitri's influence.

"Rose! I have exciting news!" Squealed Lissa. "My family is going on a ski trip with Christian's family over the Christmas break, and they told me that I could bring you along also. This is going to be so much fun!" She exclaimed.

Skiing does sound like a major improvement to how I spent Christmas last year. My mom of course hadn't even bothered to give me a phone call or anything. I ended up alone in my dorm room for all of Christmas eve and day. Lissa had been shocked that I had spent the day alone, and promised that she would make sure that I never had to be alone on Christmas again. However, it still made me feel uncomfortable to intrude on Lissa's family for everything. Her family is really nice, but they simply aren't my family. I always feel like an outsider who they are bringing into their home as a charity case.

"Liss, you know I can't pay for that," I began.

"Shush, you already know that we would be more than happy to pay for you."

"I know, it's just that I feel uncomfortable spending holidays with other families." I told her honestly.

"Rose," Pleaded Lissa. "It will be so much fun. You know that my family loves you. We don't have you over because we pity you. We invite you to spend time with us because we like you, and want you to be with us!" She exclaimed.

"I know Liss. I really appreciate everything that your family does for me. I love them also. But they just aren't my own family."

"Well, I guess you can take some time to decide if you want to join us. I know that holidays are a miserable time for you, but I can't allow you to go around wallowing in self-pity every Christmas. Just because your mother and father aren't around, it doesn't mean that there aren't others all around you who love you. You're like my sister Rose." She told me earnestly. She leaned towards me and gave me a soft hug. Lissa really is a good friend. She is just trying to make me happy. I just don't know if going skiing with her family is going to make me happy.

The rest of the day went by quickly. That is, until I made it to Mr. Alto's room. Time must have literally paused from the moment that he put me to work. All of the books and furniture in the entire room have to be cleared out in order for the renovations in here to take place. As well, Mr Alto is a lazy ass who is going to force me to mark his multiple choice papers. He claims that marking them is not worth his time. How is his time more valuable than mine. He's at least getting fucking paid to do this!

For the first half hour, I marked his tests and assignments. For the next full hour, I put textbooks away into cardboard boxes, and then carried the heavy boxes across the school into a storage room. Then I would return to the classroom and repeat the same process. When Mr. Alto finally gave me permission to leave, I felt like my arms were going to fall off.

'Am finally done with Alto. Meet me at the fields soon?' I texted Dimitri. His response was instant.

'I'm at the field already.'

This made me feel guilty since I wasn't even changed yet. I got ready as quickly as I could so Dimitri wouldn't have to wait any longer than necessary for me.

I sprinted towards the field. Dimitri was facing in the opposite direction of me, and was reading a western novel. The light breeze was blowing his beautiful hair around. He is so gorgeous!

"Hi Dimitri," I sighed.

"Roza," He replied. "Ready to run?"

"As ready as I will ever be," I muttered in response. Dimitri stood up and began jogging with me. I was now running four miles in twenty minutes which was a significant improvement from where I had begun. I still had a long ways to go, but I was making definite progress. Neither of us spoke while jogging. We never really did. When he did train me for soccer, it was all business. It did take quite a bit of effort to stay focused at the task on hand, but we both knew that it was necessary to avoid becoming too consumed with one another at these trainings.

We finished the laps in 17 minutes which was a new record for me. I felt tired, but not exhausted. I could definitely keep running if need be.

"We are going to practice one on one's today. I am hoping that you will have improved enough to be more successful than you were last time we did this drill," Stated Dimitri. I really hope I have improved enough to at least give Dimitri a challenge in passing by me.

We both took our positions, and Dimitri gracefully began dribbling the ball towards me. I timed out my attack on him, and met him about ten feet outside of the goalie box. I cannot let him deke me out. I decided to take the strategy of forcing him to go to the left. He quickly sprinted in the direction that I was forcing him in. Suddenly, he made a quick change in direction, attempting to get back into the middle of the field. He was fast. He is so damn fast, but I somehow managed to block him from making it to the middle of the field. He grunted, and quickly changed direction again, and proceeded charging towards the corner of the field. I ended up trapping him on the goal line. He has nowhere left to go.

Wrong! He pulled the ball back and made a move towards the middle of the field all while running opposite the direction of the net. Suddenly, he stopped on the ball and turned around and flew by me on the left, and then cut back into the middle for the open shot. Dammit, I was so close to stopping him.

"Roza, you have gotten a lot better," He told me, admiration shining in his eyes. "But there is no way I should have gotten by you on that last play. I judge you know exactly what your mistake was. Let's reset the drill." Of course, I did know exactly what my mistake had been. It was overconfidence. I had settled down, and Dimitri had caught me flat-footed.

We ran the same drill over and over again for the remainder of the training session. I really had improved a lot since the first time we ran this drill. I even managed to steal the ball from Dimitri a few times. I literally cheered when it happened.

"I'm hungry," I complained.

"You're always hungry," He playfully replied.

I groaned in response. He laughed at this. I love how making unattractive noises can elicit such a warm response out of Dimitri.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat." He told me.

After I changed, the two of us walked to the cafeteria. Unfortunately, this wasn't like eating at 6 AM. The cafeteria was filled with students. There was no way the two of us could be seen sitting together. Drawing the same conclusion, Dimitri gave me a saddened glance. We got in line for food together, but parted ways shortly after. I slowly took a seat beside Eddie and Mason. I only picked at the slice of pizza that I had picked up.

"What's up Rose? I have never seen such a lack of an appetite from you before." Commented Eddie.

"Nothing's up. I guess I am just a little stressed right now, with the state qualifiers coming up so soon for soccer." I quickly lied.

Neither Mason or Eddie seemed to believe my lie, but they didn't push any further.

"How was detention?" I asked Mason, eager to change the topic.

"Not bad at all. Belikov basically had me clean off his chalkboard, and then told me that I could leave. He's a pretty cool guy actually," Commented Mason.

"He's more than a cool guy," Piped in Eddie. "Apparently he was a professional soccer player. He is basically legendary."

"Are you boys developing a man-crush on Mr. Belikov?" I teased.

"No!" Both of them replied urgently. I couldn't help but laugh. Boy can be so weird sometimes.

"That's not fair though. I wish I had been assigned detention with Mr. Belikov. I was with Mr. Alto doing his dirty work for an hour and a half today!" I moaned.

"Sucks for you," Replied Mason.

I left shortly after for my room. I had a bit of homework that I had to do anyways. I was also exhausted. Today had been a really long day.

Unexpectedly, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I picked it up and saw that I had received a text from Dimitri.

'Roza, ever since this morning, I have been unable to get you off of my mind. I want to spend some time with you. I live in dorm number 117 in the staff housing building. The window is large and open. If you want, I would love for you to come by. I have a surprise for you.'

* * *

**Sorry to end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I had to cut the chapter off at some point.**

**So what do you think about Rose spending the Christmas break with Lissa's family? Also, do you think the drama with Jesse should fade away like it kind of did in the VA books, or do you think I should continue adding drama with him. Personally, I feel as if his character has played its role in this story, and that more drama would be unnecessary, but if you guys disagree, then you should definitely let me know.**

**And then there is the Russian's surprise... I guess you will have to keep reading to find out what it is. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for the great responses to the last chapter. Lots of you have been asking for Rose to spend Christmas with Dimitri. I may have some ideas for this. I guess you will just have to keep reading to find out if that happens! **

* * *

**Chapter 11**

'I will be right over there,' I replied almost instantly. Yes I am exhausted, but how could I ever reject an offer like that? I decided to run over to my room quickly beforehand to fix my hair and to apply some light make up. I know that I see Dimitri every day, but I still can't help but want to look good for him.

I threw on a casual sundress, and brushed my hair into long waves. I applied a little bit of black eyeliner, and just a touch of cherry colored lipstick. I posed in front of the mirror, and decided that I looked good. I put on a casual pair of flip flops since I wanted to be wearing something that would be easy to move around in. Oh shit, I'm going to be hopping into Dimitri's room through a window. I may give him quite a "flashy" show if I wear this dress. Maybe I should change out of it. But it looks so damn good!

In the end, I decided to wear the dress anyways. I would be careful while climbing through the window. His room is only on the first floor anyways. I have scaled up to Lissa's room effortlessly on many occasions before and she has a room on the second floor.

I luckily managed to make it to the back of the staff building without running into anyone. I found his room, and knocked on the window before climbing through it. I had to take a jumping start and was easily able to grab the edge of the window sill with my hands. The only problem was that I had to find a way to lift my legs through. As I was contemplating how to continue, Dimitri's strong hands grabbed my shoulders and lifted me into his room. He quickly closed the windows and the sealed the drapes before saying even a word to me.

"Roza, I'm so glad you could come," He sighed, as he gazed intently at me. He was definitely checking me out. I am really happy that I left the dress on, because Dimitri clearly loves it. "You are so beautiful," He murmured, confirming my thoughts.

I giggled, which was an action that had been foreign to me up until I had met Dimitri. But with Dimitri, I can't help but laugh and smile. He just makes me that happy.

"Dimitri," I purred. Wait, what?! Since when do I purr for men?

He chuckled, and pulled me into a tight hug. His hands sensually rubbed my back, and his lips gave me soft kisses along my neck. It felt heavenly. I tried pulling him in for a kiss, but to my surprise he pulled away.

"Not yet Roza, there is someone I want you to meet." He began, suddenly averting eye contact. "I should have told you earlier, but I actually told my friend Ivan about you. Don't worry, he won't tell a soul. He doesn't judge our relationship, and is a great friend for me to talk to. I really hope you aren't angry with me."

"Of course I'm not mad at you!" I exclaimed. "I'm really happy that you have someone that you can talk to about everything."

He smiled, and appeared to be relieved. "Well, I guess this was the surprise I had told you about, I want you to meet my friend Ivan."

"Wait, what? Is Ivan like on campus or something?" I asked.

"No Roza," He chuckled. "But there is this little tool called Skype. It's very useful."

My cheeks must have flushed in embarrassment, but I felt instantly better when Dimitri's warm eyes looked into mine amusingly.

"Well, I would love to meet Ivan," I told him.

He smiled, and brought the laptop over to his bed. He sprawled out, and motioned for me to join him. Holy shit, this god wants me to lie down in his bed with him! My heart felt like it was going to explode.

I smiled, and lay down next to Dimitri who quickly wrapped an arm around me. He clicked the call icon, and we awaited Ivan's response. He picked up about a minute later, and thankfully there were no problems with the video or sound on either end of the conversation.

I wasn't in the camera at the moment and couldn't even see Ivan; him and Dimitri were excitedly talking to one another in Russian. I really had no idea what they were talking about until Dimitri mentioned my name. He moved the computer so that I was now in the screen's view.

"Hi Roza, it's great to finally meet you. I'm Ivan," He told me confidently. His voice is pretty deep, but has a chirpy quality to it. It is also laced with a far thicker accent than Dimitri's has. Speaking of pretty; that is the best word I can use to describe Ivan. He may as well be a male model. He has dark blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. His face and arms may as well have been sculpted by a world renowned artist.

"Hi, I'm Rose," I replied lamely.

He gave me an amused look. "I know."

"And I knew you were Ivan," I replied automatically. "It's called a formality." I told him confidently, regaining my composure. Ivan may be a beautiful creature, but he still doesn't come close to comparing to Dimitri. No one compares to Dimitri.

He smiled, looking amused. "Dimka, your girl has got some attitude. I like that," He told us jokingly. I also couldn't help but be filled with pride when Ivan referred to me as Dimitri's.

Ivan quickly muttered something to Dimitri in Russian, and the two of them began laughing hysterically. "What?" I asked them. They ignored me. "Fucking Russians," I complained.

Dimitri planted a quick kiss on my cheek. "It was nothing Roza," He told me. Yeah, and that is clearly why the two of them were laughing so much. What idiot decided that, 'It's nothing' is an appropriate response when asked a question like that.

"So Rose, what's it like being forced to spend so much time with Dimka every day? Does he drive you insane?" Asked Ivan.

"Ivan," Growled Dimitri.

"It's fine," I told Dimitri. "Honestly, it's amazing. At first I referred to him as my Russian Jailer," Ivan let out a quick laugh at this. "But he has really grown on me."

Ivan laughed, and told Dimitri something in Russian again. Ivan began laughing again, while Dimitri blushed. "Ivan, what did you say?" I asked excitedly. "Please tell me, I have never seen Dimitri blush like that."

"It would be inappropriate," Replied Dimitri automatically.

"I am not a child! You certainly didn't treat me like one yesterday!" I exclaimed which brought out another long laugh from Ivan. Dimitri's cheeks grew even more red.

"She's right Dimka. If you are going to grow for her, you must treat her as a grown woman."

Wait grow for me? What does that -? Oh, I get it now. Wait, does Dimitri tell Ivan about our sex life? Not that we really have one, but we are hopefully getting close to having one. I laughed about ten seconds too late at Ivan's joke. That was awkward.

"Oh Roza, if only you knew the things that you do to my friend here," Sighed Ivan. "I really haven't seen him this happy in ages."

Dimitri smiled at me and laced his fingers with mine. We locked gazes, and I somehow found myself kissing his lips softly. He reached his arm around my back to pull me closer when Ivan started making "Ahem," noises in the back.

"You know, the whole point of this is to skype with me!" He exclaimed. He sounds a lot like I do when I am forced to witness Lissa and Christian acting like a sappy couple.

"And we are skyping with you," I replied innocently. "Besides, I'm sure you have watched a lot worse on your laptop before." The comment had left my mouth before I could even begin to process it. With boys my age, I would make comments a thousand times worse in a heartbeat. But with Ivan? No, I can't believe I just did that.

But to my surprise, Ivan cracked up laughing. "Dimka, this one's a keeper!" He exclaimed between laughs.

Dimitri smiled towards me, but still seemed mildly surprised by my earlier comment.

The doorbell rang in the background of Ivan's screen. "Just a moment guys, I should probably go get that." Said Ivan.

Dimitri and I took the chance to continue where we had left off. He pulled my lips to his and softly grazed his fingers on my cheek. "I love you," He sighed just before kissing me again. His arms both wound around my neck and shoulders as he held me tightly. His beautiful lips were nibbling and sucking on mine, and he would occasionally nibble with his teeth.

"Can you two not stay away from each other for even thirty seconds?" Barked Ivan. "By the way Rose, this is Aaron" He said, motioning towards a man in the background.

"Aaron!" Exclaimed Dimitri. "How is my family?" He asked excitedly.

"They are doing just fine Dimka." He replied softly. It's hard to believe a soft and nurturing voice had just come out of this man's voice. With his dark hair and beard and overall demeanor, he looks terrifying. "I'm happy to have gotten the chance to speak to you Dimka, it's been far too long. I am actually just here to pay Ivan a little visit," He said, ominously, as if he were hiding something.

"Oh, well I don't want to keep the two of you then," Began Dimitri.

"Nonesense!" Exclaimed Aaron. "I have lots of time."

I was dying to know how this guy knew Dimitri, but it seemed rude to ask.

"How exactly do you know Dimitri?" I asked. I really have never been good with impulse control.

He chuckled. "I know his whole family. They are dear friends of mine," He replied in response.

"Do you skype with your family often?" I asked Dimitri suddenly.

"All the time," He replied. "I miss them every single day." He sighed with a sad look in his eyes. I pulled him closer to me and gave him a soothing hug.

"So come back to Russia you idiot!" Exclaimed Ivan.

Dimitri replied by simply looking at Ivan, and then looking towards me.

"Bring her with you for all I care," He replied casually. "You should be home. That is where you belong. You aren't even happy out there in Shittana!"

"I am very happy right now," Dimitri assured. He gave me a quick peck on the lips to prove his point. I couldn't help but smile like an idiot.

"I'm sure you are," Replied Ivan mischievously.

Dimitri blushed again, but I kissed him to make him feel better. I love how insecure he is.

"Dimka, how old is this girl even?" Questioned Aaron. His tone was still light, but it was far from being gentle like it had been earlier.

"Fuck you." I replied instantly.

"Roza," Chastised Dimitri. "It doesn't matter," He replied to Aaron. "I love her, and when I tell mama and the rest of my family about her, they will love her too."

"Do you really believe that?" Asked Aaron. "Dimka, I just want what's best for you. You know how much your family means to me."

"If you cared about Dimitri, you would quit acting like an intrusive asshole!" I exclaimed. Dimitri gave me another warning look, but I ignored it. Dimitri may be able to sit back and watch others push him around, but I won't stand for it.

"Sorry Rose. I don't mean anything personal towards you." He replied quickly.

"Nothing personal?" Is this old guy actually kidding me?

"It's all for the best Rose. You are young. One day, you will understand," He sighed, with a distant look building in his eyes.

"Thanks for your concern Aaron," Began Dimitri, "But I truly believe that my family will love Roza as much as I do. And that really says something because I love her a lot." He declared.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. My emotions were everywhere right now. I wanted to kill whoever this Aaron guy was. But I also felt like straddling Dimitri.

"It was good talking to you Dimka," Said Aaron, clearly ending the conversation.

"Yes, it was good to speak to you too," Replied Dimitri.

Ivan quickly said something in Russian to Dimitri before ending the conversation.

"You want to know what really bothers me?" Asked Dimitri who had put his laptop away and was now lying down beside me.

I nodded in response. "It bothers me when people try to tell me what is best for me. Everyone would automatically tell me that dating a student would be the stupidest thing I could possibly do. But you know what? It's the smartest and best decision I have ever made." He exclaimed, while continuously gazing into my eyes. His lips furiously crashed onto mine. This was not the simple kiss that we had shared only minutes ago. This kiss demonstrated our need towards one another. We clung to each other as if someone were trying to pry us off each other. But we wouldn't let it happen. No one was going to pull the two of us apart, no matter how hard they tried.

**M Scene Starts:**

I began desperately pulling at his shirt, dying to get it off. I just had to touch him, and feel him everywhere. He groaned and helped me get him out of his shirt. His body is divine. His hard muscles that line his arms and abs are to die for. I just can't get enough of them. I immediately reached out and started stroking at his visible flesh. "Mmmm," He groaned.

"You like that?" I whispered seductively.

"I love that." He replied huskily.

I started reaching for his pants, but he grabbed my arms and stopped me. He then started dominating the kiss. He rolled on top of me and started probing his tongue into my mouth. Meanwhile, his body was grinding on top of mine. His hands were playing with the bottom of my dress, teasing. When I couldn't take it anymore I rolled us over and got on top of him. Dimitri reached out and started squeezing my hips, and then my ass.

"Roza, I, We shouldn't go, all the way, tonight," He gasped out, clearly as breathless as I am.

"Dimitri, I want you," I pleaded.

"I want you too, but I want to wait, to make it special. Just because I want to wait to do everything, doesn't mean we can't..." He trailed off suggestively.

I really wish he would just fuck me already, but I will take what I can get. And Dimitri has a lot to offer.

He reached under my dress and started rubbing his hands along my inner thighs.

"Dimitri," I moaned as he started kissing his way down my neck.

"This needs to go," He grunted as he removed my dress, leaving me in a sexy bra and pantie set that I had put on specifically for him.

Dimitri cursed in Russian, or I assume he cursed at least, when he took in the sight of my near naked body on top of him.

I looked down and was not surprised to see that Dimitri was as excited as me. The bulge in his pants was so big that it was a wonder it wasn't causing him pain.

I relieved Dimitri of his pain by reaching down for his pants and removing them.

We spent the next hour pleasuring one another. He had me screaming so loud by the end of it that it was a wonder no one came rushing in to see if there was a problem.

"I love you Dimitri," I whimpered as he brought me to a climax.

**M Scene Ends**

"Roza, I wish you could stay the night. I wish you hadn't been assigned my sister as your roommate," He sighed. "I want to wake up in your arms, and make you breakfast, and treat you like royalty."

I giggled, again. "You already treat me like royalty comrade. You make me feel like a princess."

"It's just, I wish I could give you more," He replied.

"What more could you give me? Our relationship isn't easy, but we have managed. No one could ever make me as happy as you do." I told him.

He gave me a quick peck on the lips before replying. I love it when he does that. "Roza, Ivan was right when he told you that I have never been so happy before. Because I really never have been. It's just, this isn't moving too fast for you, is it? Because I am happy to slow it down. Inviting you over here... I'm not sure if it was-" I cut him off.

"Dimitri, if anything, this is moving too slow for me. I don't want to waste a second of time with you! And I am really happy that you invited me over here tonight. I thought my screams earlier would have tipped you off that I was enjoying myself." I told him playfully.

"Roza, you are going to make me hard again if you start talking like that." He replied huskily.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked him as I leaned in to give him a kiss.

"No, wait yes." He said. I gave him a confused look. "It's late Roza, you should get back to your dorm. I don't want you getting in trouble."

"I will get in trouble for you anytime," I replied, feeling an overwhelming sense of lust filling me again.

"Roza," He grunted, as a look of lust filled his face as well. He pulled me in for a kiss, and reached out to begin pleasuring me again.

"Roza, you make me feel so good," Sighed Dimitri after we had both finished. Although, Dimitri again insisted that we didn't go as far as sex.

He rolled me onto my back, and got on top of me and began massaging my back. It was probably the best massage I had ever had before. He applied just the right amount of pressure to warm up and soothe my muscles. Sometimes he would lightly rub which caused shivers to cover my body. He would then remove all the shivers with his warm kisses and hands. It was a moment of perfection.

"You make me feel so good," I sighed as Dimitri removed his hands from my back, only to place them on my arm. He lightly kissed my neck as he continued rubbing my arm.

Suddenly, we were interrupted by a knock at the door. Shit, this is not good. We both quickly got dressed. I ended up hiding in Dimitri's closet. Hopefully whoever it is won't need to look in Dimitri's wardrobe.

I heard Dimitri open the door. He was greeted by a worried Vika. "Dimka, I didn't know who else to come to. Lissa has been looking for Rose all evening. She isn't answering her texts or anything! Now I'm worried since it's at least an hour past curfew! Have you seen her tonight?"

You could say that he has seen me tonight. "Vika, I'm sure Roza is alright. She can handle herself. Knowing her, she has probably found some sort of trouble to get into." He replied as casually as he could.

I reached into my pocket and took out my phone to find no less than ten missed calls from Lissa. There were also two texts from Vika. There was even one from Christian. I can't believe I made everyone worry so much about me. I have to be more careful next time.

"Do you not care about her at all?" Demanded Vika. "She is your student! We need to find her!"

"I care about her Vika!" Replied Dimitri with a bit more force than would have been needed.

"Well you sure aren't acting like it!" She replied.

"Let me try calling her again," Sighed Vika.

Oh man, this is going to be awkward. At least the volume and everything on the phone is off.

"Vika, I'm sure it will be fine. Besides, she won't answer this call if she hasn't answered the last ten," Urged Dimitri, trying to persuade his sister not to call. He had no way of knowing that I had my phone with me. That would be pretty bad if my phone was in Vika's sight and began lighting up.

"Unlike you Dimka, I am at least going to try to find her!" She exclaimed.

My phone silently rang in my hands. I felt really bad not answering, but for obvious reasons, I couldn't.

Once the ringing finished, I quickly sent Vika a text. 'Vika, I'm so sorry I have been missing your calls. I have been a bit, preoccupied.' I sent a text to Lissa as well.

I heard a squeak from the other room as Vika exclaimed, "Oh god, she texted me. She's alright."

"Good," Replied Dimitri.

"Are you not going to go looking for her or anything?" Asked Vika. "I mean, it's past curfew and she is out doing who knows what. Not that I want to rat her out or anything, but isn't it your job as a teacher to look for her? I mean, you are her mentor!"

"Umm, I guess you are right. We should go looking for her. I will grab my coat." Dimitri replied, trying to avoid raising suspicion.

A moment later, my phone lit up. 'Roza, stay where you are for another five minutes. I will lead Vika far away from here. Be careful sneaking out the window. I don't want you to get hurt. I love you.' Needless to say, it was from Dimitri.

So, I waited for the next five minutes in Dimitri's room. I left the closet a minute after I heard the door close. With some time alone in Dimitri's room, I began looking at the pictures along his walls. There was one of him and Vika, as well as two other girls who had the same brown hair and eyes. They must be his sisters. One of the pictures was of Dimitri hugging a mid-aged woman who I presumed to be his mom. Then there was a picture of an old lady who was posed for the picture but cracked no smile. Could that be a grandmother? All of the pictures on his wall appear to have been taken within the past couple of years. I have to find some way of seeing pictures of baby Dimitri.

After the five minutes had elapsed, I headed towards the window. I looked around to make sure no one was near, and then effortlessly jumped out of it landing on the ground perfectly. I regained my composure, and briskly walked towards my dorm. Since it was so far past curfew, I entered my room through my window. With a large tree out front, I easily climbed into my room through my normal route. I have done this far too many times.

I decided to text Vika since I didn't want her and Dimitri to needlessly search for me. 'Hey Vika, I am back in our room. Where are you?'

Her response was instant. 'Oh, no where. I just went to visit my brother for a moment. I couldn't sleep.'

Liar. But it's alright. She just wanted to make sure that I was safe.

A few minutes later, Vika entered the room, and to my surprise, she brought Dimitri with her.

"Roza, where were you?" Demanded Dimitri. He was getting better at acting out this part.

"Oh, I was just going for a midnight jog. You know how I am, I like to keep myself fit for soccer. It actually really loosened up my muscles." I teased.

Dimitri couldn't help but let out a small laugh at how ridiculous the idea of me running at midnight was.

"Your muscles are far from loose," Commented Dimitri. To Vika, his comment hopefully sounded harmless, but to me, well I knew a lot better.

"Yeah, they can get pretty tight." I teased, eliciting a tortured expression from Dimitri who undoubtedly would have taken me right there if it weren't for Vika's presence. "That's why I run at night. To release the tension." I told him with a serious look on my face.

His face looked even more tortured than it had before. "You look tense comrade. You should run with me more often. Running in the evenings has definitely grown on me," I teased even further, emphasizing the word grown.

The look on Dimitri's face at the moment was priceless. However, he quickly regained his composure. "Roza, don't sneak out like this again." He told me. "Goodnight," Was all he said before turning around and leaving.

"My brother is so weird," Commented Vika. "So where the hell have you been?" She asked eagerly.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Come on Roza, obviously you weren't running. You are wearing a dress for god's sake. What was up with that lie you told Dimka? Obviously he wasn't going to buy it. I expect better bullshit of you." She commented.

"Well shit, maybe I am losing my touch," I tried to joke, but she didn't find it funny.

"Seriously Rose, it was as if my brother knew where you had been or something."

I shrugged my shoulder again. "I doubt he would have known. I was in a pretty isolated area. And if he knew what I had been doing then..." I trailed off, allowing her mind to come up with a far better story than I could possibly make on my own.

"One of these days Roza, I am going to figure out who this guy is. Secret relationships really aren't healthy you know."

I shrugged my shoulders again. I seemed to be doing a lot of that. "Yeah, but they are pretty sexy," I commented. I decided there was no point trying to deny a hidden relationship anymore. As long as she doesn't know who the man is, I don't really see many potential harms.

"Roza!" She exclaimed. "What have you been doing? Wait, never mind, I really don't need to know the details."

No, she really doesn't need to know the details. If she thinks that hearing about my sex life would be uncomfortable, it would only be ten times worse for her when she finds out that her brother is the secret someone that I have been with.

"Yeah, you probably don't" I replied. "I'm really tired, goodnight Vika."

"Goodnight Roza."

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**So the next chapter is going to be a long one. I'm talking potentially longer than chapter 6 was! It will cover the state qualifier soccer tournament. So I will definitely give you guys a couple soccer game scenes in there since there haven't been any in a long time. Also, a couple of surprises will definitely be present.**

**Review what you thought of the chapter. Particularly, thoughts on the new characters would be great!**


	12. Chapter 12

**So here is the State Qualifiers. I worked really hard on it, so reviews would be really appreciated. I only got three reviews on the last chapter which upsets me. Are you losing interest in the story?**

**Also, I hate to bother you all, but I am writing another Fanfic called Secret Love and I would love for you all to check it out.**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Roza," Moaned Vika. "How have you been waking up this early every day?"

In reality, I have been getting up at least an hour later than this. It is four in the morning. I was too tired to bother replying to her.

Being me, I had put off packing until the last second. The last second meaning that I still wasn't packed for the state qualifiers and the bus is leaving in an hour. Dammit, I really hate packing.

I pulled out a small suit case, and began to stuff all of my soccer equipment, as well as any other piece of clothing that was easily accessible into the suit case at record speed.

Ten minutes later, I was packed and ready to go.

"Roza," Chuckled Vika. "Only you would put off packing until this late."

I replied with a smug smile. The two of us dragged our suitcases to the cafeteria, and grabbed some food to eat for breakfast. I also stashed a lot of food in my purse so that I could eat it on the bus. The ride to Helena is about five hours long which means that there is no way the bus will be making any pit stops for food.

Vika and I took a spot at a table with Mia, Jill, and some of the other girls on the team. I excitedly began eating my breakfast.

"How can you eat at such an early time?" Whined Mia.

I shrugged my shoulder. If I am awake, I am happy to eat. End of story.

"Guys, it's 4:45 already. We should really head to the bus," Said Jill.

"Nah, we have time still," I replied casually. Jill didn't seem to agree with me, but she stayed anyways.

"Jill is right," Announced Meredith. "I'm going to go wait for the bus. If you girls miss the ride to the tournament, then that's not my problem," She told us grumpily. What has gotten into her?

"Ok, see you on the bus!" Exclaimed Carly, who is Camille's best friend. Carly has never done anything particularly mean or harmful, but being friends with Camille is enough to make me dislike her.

About five minutes later, the rest of the team began to get up. Vika and I were definitely the slowest of the group and were the last to make it to the team's meeting spot.

"See, the bus isn't even here!" I exclaimed, feeling very smug.

Meredith simply glared at me. Dimitri smiled and shook his head.

About ten minutes later, the bus arrived. Vika and I ended up getting a spot near the front of the bus, and we sat directly in front of Mia and Jill. This bus ride was going to be a lot of fun. It had been a long time since I had had some girl time. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the boys team began piling into the bus. Mason and Eddie sat directly across from me. How had I forgotten about the boys' team being with us on this tournament? I had honestly been looking forward to a weekend void of boy trouble. I love Mason and Adrian, but they tend to create a lot of drama.

Adrian got on the bus shortly after and smiled at Jill. Jill blushed and immediately looked away. The dynamic between the two of them is really weird.

Once both teams were on the bus, Dimitri and the other coaches took attendance, and sat down. Dimitri sat directly in front of Vika and I.

"You're sitting in front of us?" I complained to Dimitri, in a playful tone.

He turned around and smiled. "Yes, I am going to coach you during the ride."

I laughed at his joke.

The bus started moving, and everyone in the bus cheered.

"Helena, here we come!" Chanted someone from the back of the bus.

"You know what this bus ride needs?" I asked Vika.

She read my mind. "Some singing!"

Mia and Jill smiled at us from behind.

The four of us had a heated debate over which song would be the best to sing. I adamantly argued for Bohemian Rhapsody while Vika argued that a more contemporary song would grab the attention of more people on the bus.

"But most of the stuff on the radio is shit!" I exclaimed in response to Vika.

Mia glared at me. "What?" She exclaimed. "The music that makes it on to the radio is awesome! That's how it makes it there in the first place!"

The four of us continued our ridiculous argument, laughing the entire time. I really have been neglecting spending time with my friends. I had somehow forgotten how much fun it is to just be together like this. I just wish that Lissa were here.

In the middle of our argument, Eddie, Mason, and some other guys from the soccer team began singing some awful song by Drake. Mia grinned at immediately joined in. We clearly have really different tastes in music. Despite my dislike of the song, I couldn't help but join in.

Twenty minutes of loud singing later, some people began to drift off. It was really early in the morning, so I could understand wanting to sleep. But I was way too hyped up to even consider sleeping.

Vika leaned into the window and fell asleep within seconds. Jill did the same, and Mia put in a pair of headphones. What am I supposed to do now?

I impatiently sat quietly for ten minutes, needing to just do something. To my relief, Dimitri turned around.

"Come sit beside me Roza," He whispered.

"Won't that look weird?" I whispered back.

He pointed to his little whiteboard that he seemed to have with him at all times of the day. "I will be coaching you," He told me, using his fingers to put air quotes around the word coaching.

I didn't need to be offered twice. I quietly got up from my seat and slid in beside Dimitri. The other coaches were all awake and alert, and gave the two of us confused glances, but were satisfied when Dimitri began drawing on his whiteboard.

He drew out a typical sketch of the field, but clearly wasn't focusing on his drawing as he was gazing at me intently.

"Bohemian Rhapsody?" He chuckled. "And you make fun of my music being old?"

"What can I say?" I replied. "Queen is ageless."

"I actually like that song," He told me with an amused look in his eye.

"We like a similar song?" I questioned excitedly. The two of us laughed, which resulted in Alberta looking towards us again. We quieted down, and Dimitri continued drawing something on his whiteboard.

"What's your favourite song?" I asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "There are too many to choose from. I can't simply pick one."

"Pick one. Name the first song that comes to mind." I told him.

"I want to hold your hand," He said softly. "By The Beatles."

"I know who the song is by," I snorted, breaking the intimacy of the moment.

Our hands grazed each other's as I shifted my position to get comfortable. The simply touch sent chills through my body. I really wish everything was as simple as a song. _I wanna hold your hand. So let me hold your hand. _As if it were that easy.

He tilted the whiteboard towards me and wrote out a message. 'Because, _When I touch you I feel happy.' _Read the message, quoting the song.

A huge smile formed on my face. This whole situation, while sad that we cannot openly be together, is ridiculous romantic and adorable. Dimitri is so adorable. On the outside, Dimitri appears to such a tough masculine figure, but he is such a softie on the inside.

"I'm tired," I complained after a few moments of silence. I wanted nothing more than to have Dimitri wrap his arm around me and let me sleep on his shoulder. He couldn't do that clearly, but he did the next best thing he could. "Take this Roza," He said, handing me a knitted blanket. "My mama made it for me before I came here. She wanted to make sure that I would never get cold. Go back to your sleep and get some rest."

"You bring a blanky with you everywhere you go?" I teased.

He looked down, embarrassed.

"It's really adorable," I told him as softly as I could, before heading back to my seat.

As I wrapped his blanket around my body, I was filled with the scent of Dimitri. His strong aftershave is the last thing I remember thinking about before falling asleep.

"Roza, wake up! We're here!" Exclaimed Vika excitedly.

I slowly looked up at her. Had I really slept for four hours?

"Wake up sleeping beauty," Cooed Mason.

After sleeping for so long, one would figure that I would be feeling completely energized. But no, I was actually just feeling tired.

I slowly pulled myself up, and reluctantly removed Dimitri's blanket. Shivers covered my body the moment I removed it. "Why is it so damn cold?" I complained.

Vika giggled. "Why were you using Dimka's одеяло?"

"Hmm?" I asked, confused.

"It means blanket in Russian." She replied.

"Oh," I replied. "I was tired and cold, so he offered it to me."

"Ok," She replied, still a bit confused. "That was nice of him."

Dimitri was nowhere to be seen so I gently packed the blanket into my bag.

Once both teams had gotten off the bus, Alberta started talking to the girls' team. "Girls, our first game is today at 6:00 P.M. We will be playing another at 8:30 P.M. I know this schedule is not ideal, but we will have to make do with it. I want everyone to meet in the hotel lobby at 4:30. That leaves us with six hours to tour around the area.

I scoffed. What the hell is there to do in Helena?

My question was answered moments later. Alberta gave us a list of tourist attractions in the area, and told us that we were free to roam around the area on our own on the conditions that we stayed in groups of three or more, and that we acted responsibly.

My friends and I headed up to our room. Viktoria, Mia, Jill and I would be rooming together. Once we put our stuff down in the room, we headed down to the hotel lobby where we were meeting up with Mason, Eddie, and Adrian.

Everyone had really different ideas on what to do for the day. Mia wanted to visit St. Helena's Cathedral. Jill and Adrian both wanted to visit the Holter Museum of Art, but clearly didn't want to be alone together there. Eddie immediately agreed that visiting the art gallery would be a good idea. Mason wanted to go up to the top of Mount Helena to go biking. As for Vika and I, both of us wanted to go to Hauser Lake. A beach day sounded perfect. Yes, the lake will be a little cold at this time of year, but it actually is quite warm outside today. When I brought up going to the beach, everyone aside from Vika looked at me like I was crazy.

In the end, Jill, Adrian and Eddie went to the art gallery. I am glad that I'm not with them. That sounds like it would be very awkward to be in that group. Mia and Mason were going to visit St. Helena's cathedral as well as going up to Mount Helena, while Vika and I were going to the beach. Everyone seemed happy in the end.

Vika and I ended up taking a bus down to the beach and excitedly chatted and joked with one another the entire way there. When we got there, I was shocked by how beautiful it was. The blue waves of the lake were elegantly cascading on to the shore. Across the lake, I could see hundreds, no, thousands of trees. There are big rocky islands everywhere on this lake.

Then, something caught my attention. Not far away was a marina.

"Vika, we should rent a canoe or something!" I exclaimed. I had always wanted to try canoeing but had never had the opportunity to before.

"Sure, that sounds like fun," She replied.

When we made it to the boat rental section, I found myself drooling over a couple of beautiful ski boats. I had always wanted to try canoeing, but even more so than that, I have always wanted to go tubing off the back of a fast power boat.

"Those ski boats look like so much fun!" Exclaimed Vika. "I wish we had enough money to rent one for a few hours."

"I know. It would be so much fun to go out tubing and water skiing." I replied.

Vika's eyes lit up. "Wait just a moment Rose," She exclaimed excitedly as she pulled out her cell phone. She punched one number in to speed dial and then awaited a response.

Then she began speaking in Russian. She must be talking to Dimitri. Her tone of voice started off extremely excited. Then her smile fell, and her tone turned into a pleading and whining one. About a minute later, she was even more excited than she had been before. Then she hung up.

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed. "I just called Dimitri, and he said he will rent a ski boat out with us for the day! He said he will be here in about twenty minutes."

I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. A moment ago, nothing sounded better than going tubing. Now, nothing sounded better than going tubing with Dimitri. Although, I feel bad that he is going to be paying for this. Boats are really expensive to rent.

Exactly twenty minutes later, Dimitri arrived. Instead of wearing his usual duster, he was wearing a simple button up shirt and swim trunks. Dimitri always looks good, but something about his beach day look was making me even more attracted to him than normal.

Viktoria ran up to Dimitri and threw herself into Dimitri's arms as she thanked him for coming.

"It's no problem Vika. Besides, you know that I can never reject boating." He replied.

He went to the check-in desk and booked the boat for three hours.

After getting fit for life jackets, the three of us piled onto the beautiful boat. I was holding on to the large tube. It wasn't a very fancy one. It would only hold one person at a time, and the one person would have to lie down on their stomach. But it was still going to be a lot of fun.

"Ready to go?" Asked Dimitri.

"Yes!" We both exclaimed excitedly.

I don't know if Dimitri drives boats often, but he certainly seems to know what he is doing. He effortlessly pulled the boat out of its parking spot and began heading towards open water.

"Comrade, when are you going to faster?" I complained, becoming impatient.

"Soon, Roza," He replied. "Do you see that buoy over there?"

I squinted my eyes, and could just see an orange buoy in the distance.

"We need to get past that buoy before we are allowed to go fast." He told me.

It seemed like it took ages to get past the buoy when in reality it probably only took a minute. Just as we were about to pass it, my heart sped up in anticipation. Lissa had told me about her experiences on ski boats many times, but I had never been on one myself.

The boat lurched forward, and I felt a gust of wind rush across my face. Dimitri had accelerated so that the boat was now moving at full speed. The feeling of it is simply incredible. I can feel every wave we hit, and can feel just how fast we are moving.

A little while later, Dimitri slowed down the boat and eventually stopped it.

"What was that for?" I demanded.

He chuckled. "Do you not want to go tubing?" He asked playfully.

"Oh, I do!" I exclaimed. Vika and Dimitri both laughed.

Dimitri set up the tube in the water, and I managed to get on it without having to jump in the cold water first. "You are never going to make me fall off this tube!" I exclaimed.

"Oh?" Asked Dimitri. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."

"Bring it on." I challenged.

"Oh, I will he replied."

Dimitri slowly sped up the boat, and again my heart leaped in anticipation. I waved a hand up in the air which was our signal for faster. He slowly sped up the boat again, but we were still going really slowly.

"Way faster!" I screamed.

Dimitri finally sped the boat up. I was going really fast now. He started turning the boat to the left, and then took a sharp right which sent me flying over the wake. I screamed in excitement. Then, he took the boat around in a circle and made waves. He proceeded to throw me out of the wake while hitting a giant wave. I could feel myself being flung to the side right through midair. It was awesome! Dimitri continued driving like this for the next ten minutes or so. He never managed to flip me over. By the time he slowed down and stopped the boat, my arms felt like they were going to die of exhaustion.

Dimitri pulled the tube in, and helped me get back into the boat. Normally I wouldn't have needed any help, but my arms are just so damn tired. He basically lifted me up and into the boat.

I stood on the boat shivering like crazy. I never got fully submerged in the water, but I still had been splashed quite a bit. Dimitri quickly grabbed my towel and wrapped it tightly around my shoulders. He left his arms around me for just a split second too long in the process. Our gazes locked, and we smiled at one another.

And Vika definitely noticed it. She stared at the two of us who had sprung far apart from each other at this point, but the damage was done. Her glance was confused to begin with, as she studied the two of us. Neither Dimitri nor I said anything. I was doing my best to look confused by her confused look. Glancing at Dimitri, he was doing the same.

As Vika continued looking at us, her glance turned from confused, to accusatory as she seemed to piece the puzzle together in her head.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" She asked angrily.

"Tell you what?" I replied automatically. It can't hurt to try denying it.

"Everything!" She exclaimed. "Don't play stupid with me. You know exactly what I am talking about! How could you be so stupid Dimka? You could be fired!"

I was about to deny her claims again when Dimitri shook his head at me. "Vika," He began.

"It's true isn't it? Oh god! What is mama going to say about all of this?" She exclaimed.

The two of them then broke into a heated conversation in Russian. They were both constantly cutting each other off. Vika looked downright angry while Dimitri was doing his best to stay calm, but I could tell that his composure was beginning to slip.

Eventually, Vika's menacing glance turned to me. "Fuck you Rose. All I have ever been is nice, and a good friend to you. And what do you do in return? You sneak around with my brother! All of those nights that I asked you about the secret guy that you were obviously seeing, did it not ever cross your mind to tell me that it was Dimitri? You know that I would never tell anyone!"

"I have wanted to tell you every single day!" I blurted out in response.

"Sure," She replied sarcastically, bitterness biting the single word.

"I love him!" I blurted out.

Her menacing expression turned to one of shock. "You, you love him?" She asked, too shocked to be angry at this point.

"Yes. I love him so much," I replied.

Vika was looking very conflicted at this point. She clearly wanted to be furious at us still, but at the same time she wanted to be happy for her brother. I hope that she wants me to be happy. She turned her gaze towards Dimitri.

"I love her too," He replied, gazing intently at me as he said the words. "I can't imagine life without her."

"But you? You never date people!" She exclaimed lamely. I guess Dimitri truly hasn't had many girlfriends before. I find it hard to believe still though.

He couldn't help but crack a smile at this. "Well, I am dating someone now." He replied.

"Shit," She muttered. "How did I not pick up on this earlier? You two have always acted weird around each other!"

"Don't feel bad Vika," I told her immediately. "No one has picked up on this. Well, aside from Adrian, but-" Dimitri's glare cut off my words.

"Adrian Ivashkov?" He growled.

"You told him? And not me?" Yelled Vika.

"No, I didn't tell him!" I said hastily. "He just figured it out somehow. And don't worry Dimitri, he told me that he would never tell anyone. And I believe him."

Dimitri seemed to settle down a bit, but he still looked annoyed. "Roza, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Roza isn't so good at telling people things sooner as opposed to later." Mumbled Viktoria. She even had the nerve to mock me by putting a weird emphasis on 'Roza.'

"Dimitri, I just, I really don't know why I didn't tell you. Especially after you told me about telling Ivan about us. I-" This time I was cut off by Vika's angry glare.

"You told Ivan? And not me? Do I not mean anything to you?" Demanded Vika.

"Vika, no, it's not like that. You're my sister. I simply cannot talk to you the way I talk to Ivan. Besides, you are far more involved in this whole mess than Ivan is. He is a lot more impartial to mine and Roza's relationship."

"Oh god, this is going to take me a long time to get used to this idea," Sighed Vika in defeat. "You two better make each other really happy. And don't think that I have forgiven either of you yet, because I haven't! I'm still really mad at both of you."

"He makes me really happy," I sighed, gazing into his dark brown eyes. His gaze met mine, and we somehow found ourselves moving closer to one another.

"I don't need to see it!" Shouted Vika.

Dimitri and I were only at arm's length away at this point. It was like there was some magnetic attraction between us.

"Vika, do you want to go tubing?" I asked her. "It really was a lot of fun. There's no sense in wasting all of the money that Dimitri had to spend to rent this boat."

She smiled. She really is similar to me. She is so ridiculously stubborn, but she just can't say no to an exciting opportunity.

"Yeah, let me on the tube." She said.

Dimitri set the tube up for Vika, and then walked back to the steering wheel. He was doing his best to hide his emotions, but I could see how sad he was feeling at the moment. He loves his family and Vika so much. He hates fighting with her.

I leaned towards Dimitri and wrapped my arms around him. I don't care if Vika sees. She already knows about us. Besides, a hug isn't too graphic.

"Roza," He sighed, responding instantly to my touch.

"She will forgive you." I whispered in his ear. "She is mad, but she won't stay that way for long."

"I know you're right Roza. But she is right. Would it have really been so bad to of told her earlier?"

"I don't know," I replied. "But it's in the past. We can't do anything to change it. She just has to come to terms with all of this. Don't beat yourself up."

In reality, I am also feeling really guilty and upset, but I want to at least try and help him cheer up.

He leaned in to give me a light peck on the lips, but it ended up turning into a lot more than that. I wrapped my arms even tighter around his back as he stroked my cheek, and played with my hair. My heart had raced earlier in anticipation for the boat, but even that couldn't compare with the excitement and anticipation that Dimitri was building.

"You know I can see you!" Screamed Vika from the tube. "And I'm freezing out here!"

The rest of the afternoon went by surprisingly presently. Vika was doing her best to have fun despite being so angry, and Dimitri and I were actually able to act like a couple. Vika would still glare whenever we held hands or anything, but in time I am hoping that she won't mind it as much.

Time seemed to fly by, and I soon found myself on the soccer field ready to start my first game. Dimitri gave me a supportive glance just as I headed on to the field. We ended up winning 5-0. Our team hadn't even played very well. The other team was just lousy. We also won our second game 3-2. The other team was pretty decent, but there was no way that they should have scored two goals on us. Erika, one of the outside defenders, had played a dreadful game, and had been the cause of both of the goals scored against. I had played average I both of the games. I need to up my game if we want to win this entire tournament though. Even if the outside defenders are having bad days, I have to be able to step in and support them.

It was 10:00 by the time the last game ended and I was exhausted, yet also very hungry. The rest of the team must have been hungry as well since Alberta had everyone meet in the hotel lobby at 10:30 to go out for something to eat. It wasn't ideal since everyone would be going to sleep really late, but we do have to eat.

"Aww, poor Dimitri," Sighed Vika. "He just texted me to tell me that he isn't going out for supper with us. He says he has one of his migraines."

"Dimitri gets migraines?" I asked, concern filling my face.

"Yes, ever since he got his concussion, he has been having a lot of problems with migraines." She replied.

Dimitri is in pain right now? All I can think about is him helplessly lying in bed, clutching his head. I want to be with him, to support him.

I quickly ran up to Alberta. "Miss Petrov, may I be excused from the team dinner? I am exhausted and want to get a good sleep before tomorrow's games."

"Aren't you going to be hungry?" She asked.

"I will manage," I replied. "I have some food in my bag."

"Very well then," She replied. "I will see you tomorrow morning."

I nodded and quickly told Vika that I wouldn't be going with the team to dinner. She just shook her head at me and muttered something in Russian. I smiled at her and ran upstairs to Dimitri's room.

I knocked on the door softly, not wanting to disturb him any further. He slowly opened the door, and cracked a bit of a smile when he saw me. He was wearing nothing but his boxers. Physically, he looked fine. He wasn't pale or anything, but then there were his eyes. Oh god, his eyes told another story all together. He is clearly in a lot of pain.

"Come on, let's lie down," I told him, leading him to the bed. He obediently followed.

He sprawled out on the bed, and wrapped his arms around me. "Thanks for being here," He moaned. His voice was weak and raspy.

"Dimitri," I sighed quietly, holding him even tighter. "Can I get you anything?"

"No," He replied, again with that weak voice.

I ignored his response and went out to fill a bag with ice. It has always helped me to put ice on when anything hurts. I also got him a glass of water to sip on.

"Here," I told him pointing towards the ice. "Do you want me to hold this on your head? It might help."

He slowly nodded in response. I lightly set the ice on his head and held it there with one hand, while I massaged his back with the other.

We stayed together like that for ten minutes. The ice was melting so I had to remove the bag from his head.

"Thanks Roza, I'm feeling a lot better," He sighed.

"Are you really?" I asked him.

"Yes," He replied. I only believe him because his voice sounds a lot stronger than it was before.

I smiled at him, and he smiled back. I pulled his lips closer to mine and softly pecked at them. I then started kissing down his neck, and exposed chest. I didn't dare go near his waist, for this didn't really seem like the time.

"Roza," He moaned as I kept on kissing him everywhere. I kissed everything from his hard abs, to his shoulders, to his chin, to the back of his ears. Soon, he pulled my lips back to his, and started kissing me passionately. His kiss was tender and soft and loving. His tongue lightly traced around my lips before entering my mouth. He continued sensually kissing me, exploring my mouth and pleasuring me in ways that I did not even think were possible before meeting him.

He wrapped his arms around my hips and started pulling me closer to me as he continued deeply kissing me. Moans were escaping from both Dimitri and I as we pulled each other closer and continued showing each other how much we loved one another.

"I love you so much Roza," Sighed Dimitri when he pulled away.

"I love you too," I replied.

He started spooning me, and within minutes he had fallen asleep. I know that I can't stay here for the night, but I really wish I could. Being wrapped in his strong arms is exactly where I belong.

But ten minutes later, I knew that I had to get back to my room. I couldn't risk having the team get there before me. So I released myself from Dimitri's arms as lightly as I could and headed towards the door.

"Goodnight Roza," Murmured a half asleep Dimitri. Damn, I must have woken him up.

"Goodnight comrade," I sighed before leaving.

When I made it back to my room, I took a long and hot shower to soothe my aching muscles. Then I got changed, and lied down. I grabbed some bread and fruit that had been in my bag, and ate them before going to sleep.

My teammates of course woke me up when they got back from supper, but I fell asleep again almost immediately.

I got up bright and early the next day, ready for another three games of soccer today. If we win our next two games in a row this morning, we will automatically qualify for a spot in the semi-finals which will be played tomorrow. It would be best though for us to win all three of them.

The day flew by in a blur of soccer, and we had somehow managed to win all three games. I had played a lot better than I did yesterday, and our team only let in two goals all day which was a huge success.

Our last game ended at 4:00, so we had a lot of time to go out tonight.

"We should go shopping!" Squealed Mia.

"We definitely should!" Replied Vika.

"There's a pool at this hotel!" Exclaimed Jill. "We should have a pool party with the guys."

"That sounds like fun!" I replied to Jill. "Let's go shopping for a few hours, and then order pizza and have a pool party tonight."

We all agreed on the plan. None of the guys would be joining us for shopping, so we went directly to the mall.

The moment we walked into the mall, we passed by an H&M and Mia insisted that we go in it. I looked around the store, and ended up finding a nice hoodie, and a simple pair of jeans that I liked. Neither items were particularly expensive which was good.

"Is that all your getting?" Asked Vika. "Those are really boring."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't really have anyone particular to impress anymore," I told her honestly. Besides, I kind of miss dressing so comfortably for school. I don't want to turn into a slob or anything, but I really don't see the point in dressing so revealingly anymore.

She groaned and showed me a cute tank top that she was planning on buying.

"I really like it," I told her.

She smiled. Vika seems a bit more distant than she is normally, but she doesn't seem mad anymore. The two of us headed to the cash register and bought our items. Jill and Mia both held huge bags and met us outside about ten minutes later. It reminded me of how much Lissa would buy if she were here. I really wish she was on the soccer team.

The next store that we hit was Victoria's Secret. I scanned around the store, and found a lacy red bra and panty set that I just knew would look stunning on me. I took them to a change room, and tried them on, and decided that I had been right. This particular shade of red looked beautiful with my skin and hair colour. The bra fit me perfectly, and the panties left very little to the imagination. Dimitri is going to love this!

I stepped out of the change room, and got in line to pay. Vika lined up right behind me. She was also buying fancy looking lingerie, but she glared when she saw the pair I had selected. "Please tell me those aren't for…" She trailed off, not even being able to utter her brother's name in this context.

"They aren't specifically for him," I told her, although it was somewhat of a lie. The lace on these bra and panties is far too itchy to wear for non-special occasions.

"Roza, you haven't…" She trailed off again. "Have you?" She questioned, not needing to state the entire question. She wanted to know if Dimitri and I were having sex. I honestly don't know why she even wants to know, but at least I can answer her truthfully.

"We haven't," I confirmed. She didn't really relax, but I am guessing she is still more relaxed at the moment than she would be if I had given the alternative answer.

"This is just all so weird," She complained.

"I know, it will take some getting used to," I replied.

"Rose, I'm not really made at you anymore. Dimitri is really happy right now. I mean, I have never seen a person have this kind of effect on him. I will forgive you on two conditions. The first is that you will never hold this kind of information from me again, and the second being that you have to tell Lissa about everything. Lissa is your best friend, and you aren't being fair to her. She deserves to know."

I really did want things to go back to normal with Vika, but how am I supposed to tell Lissa about this. She is going to be beyond furious when she finds out how long this has been going on. She will be even more angry when she finds out that she isn't the first person to have found out about my relationship. Lissa tells me everything. And here I am, keeping this huge secret from her. But I am going to have to tell her eventually. Maybe sooner as opposed to later will be better.

"Ok, Vika. I promise I will tell Lissa. I won't keep big secrets from either of you ever again if I can help it."

She looked only somewhat satisfied by my response, but I couldn't promise something as outrageous as never lying or keeping a secret ever again. I don't want to do either of those things, but I will almost inevitably have to keep secrets from them still.

Vika finally settled for my answer and pulled me into hug. "Thank you Roza. I just can't stay mad at you!"

I didn't end up buying anything else for the rest of the trip. The simple reason being I couldn't afford to buy anymore. The only reason that I even have a full wardrobe is Lissa's generosity.

We went back to the hotel, and excitedly got into our swimsuits and headed down to the pool. I ordered some pizzas for the girls and for Mason, Eddie, and Adrian. When we got to the pool, the entire boys' soccer team was there. Meredith and Carly were there as well, trying to flirt with every guy there.

Mason and Eddie immediately jumped out of the pool to greet us.

"How did your team do today?" I asked Eddie.

He smiled. "We lost our second game, but we still made it into the semi-finals."

"Congrats guys! I'm really happy for you." I told them. I really am happy for Eddie particularly. He works so hard for his team.

Just then, Mason launched himself into my arms in an attempt to get me wet. I quickly pushed him back and shrieked at the coldness of the water. I couldn't help but notice Mia looking at Mason sadly when he hugged me. I really should get the message across to him that I'm not interested.

After that, Eddie reached out and dragged Jill into the pool. It didn't take much convincing for her to follow Eddie. I noticed then that Adrian was sitting in the hot tub, and decided to go talk to him.

"Hi Adrian," I told him, as I slowly dipped into the hot tub. The water felt beautiful.

"Rose," He replied with a smile on his face. In typical Adrian style, he scooted closer to me and rested his hand on my leg. I pushed his hand away immediately just as he knew I would.

"Doesn't hurt to try," He joked.

Suddenly, Meredith joined us in the hot tub. "Hi Adrian," She purred.

He smiled back at her. "Meredith, you look good."

She giggled and touched his chest. "You are hot."

He smiled at her lame attempt of a joke. I got out of the hot tub and joined my other friends in the pool. I really did not need to witness this.

Just as I was about to jump in, Mason locked his arms around my waist. I instinctively pushed him away forcefully. He looked at me with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

I wanted to tell him it was fine. It's not like he meant any harm. But by saying that it's fine or not a problem would only allow him to continue going after me like this. But still, is it really appropriate to reject someone who has never outright told you that they have feelings for you?

I nodded in response and jumped in the pool. I decided against a clear rejection, but I didn't further the conversation or anything. I don't think Mason is going to attempt something like that again anytime soon.

My friends and I splashed around in the pool for a bit, and I shot out of the water when the pizza arrived.

My friends and I all sat at a circular table, contently eating our pizza. I couldn't help but take notice of the way we were all seated. Eddie and Jill sat beside one another and were too distracted by one another to even notice the rest of us. Mason sat in between Mia and I and was happily chatting with both of us. Meanwhile, Vika and Adrian were sitting next to each other making minimal conversation.

We headed up to our rooms after another hour of eating and swimming. We were all exhausted and we had to make sure we were all well rested for the next day.

I woke up the next morning, feeling very excited for the upcoming soccer games. Jill bounced out of bed just like I had while Mia and Vika complained about how tired they were. I'm pretty tired, but I don't really care.

The team got to the field extra early so that we could have a long warm up. Our muscles were all very stiff from playing so much over the past few days. I think my muscles are hurting far less than everyone else's though. I guess I have Dimitri to thank for that.

We were jogging as a team around the field, and I couldn't help but pick up on a conversation that Meredith was having with Carly.

"He is really hot! We had so much fun last night!" Exclaimed Meredith. Carly squealed in response.

"I want to know all the details!" Replied Carly.

"No, you really don't," Replied Meredith, and the two girls began laughing again.

"I just can't believe it. I mean, Adrian Ivashkov? Any girl at this school would die for the chance to hook up with him." Said Carly.

"I know!" Exclaimed Meredith excitedly.

So Adrian hooked up with Meredith now? I am definitely going to have to talk to Adrian about this. I have always known that he has the qualities of a player, but he has never actually struck me as being one.

After another hour of light jogging and training, our team came together in a huddle. "I know we can do this girls!" Said Alberta. "We just have to play the way we have been playing for the past few day."

We broke from the huddle and sprinted towards the field.

We ended up winning the game 2-1. It was a true nail biter. Our team had scored within the first five minutes of the game, but were unable to score again for the rest of the half. About twenty minutes into the second half, we got scored on which tied up the score. Then, Mia scored a goal out of nowhere which gave us the lead, and eventually the game.

"We're in the finals!" I squealed as the final whistle sounded.

Only two hours passed between the end of the semi-final game and the beginning of the finals.

Dimitri pulled me aside before the beginning of the finals. "Roza, you can do it. Just remember everything we have gone over in our trainings, and you won't be able to fail."

I smiled up at him. "I won't be able to fail because I have the best coach of all time."

He smiled in response, and motioned for me to join the team huddle.

"3,2,1, Saints!" Screamed my team as we rushed on to the field.

The whistle blew and the game began. Mia passed the ball back to Meredith who passed it back to Jill who was now a starting defender. Jill streaked up the sidelines and made a beautiful pass up to Carly. Carly pushed the ball a bit further forward before suddenly changing direction and passing back to Meredith. Meredith deked by a defender which created a 2 on 1 situation for her and Mia against the other team's defender. Meredith held the ball until the last moment possible before passing it off to Mia who had now been given the break away. Mia charged towards the net and effortlessly placed the ball in the top right hand corner of the net. Our team screamed and jumped on Mia.

"Good job Meredith, that pass was really great," I told her. I wanted to give her some congratulations since I know what it feels like to be not recognized for the amount of work that you put into each play. Instead of saying thanks, she ignored me and turned away. What was that about? Whatever, I can't worry about it now. This game is too important.

The whistle sounded, and my teammates were all filled with adrenaline rushes from the previous play. We were all very excited. We would stop at nothing to win.

Unfortunately, the other team caught us by surprise when they made a very nice passing play and made it by our line of midfielders. Erika jumped up to challenge a player, but was beaten. So I stepped in to challenge the player, but wow, is she ever fast. She isn't nearly as fast as Dimitri of course, but she is definitely quicker than me. In order to compensate for the speed differences, I forced her to the outside of the field which was a common tactic that I would normally use with Dimitri. This way she wouldn't be able to get a breakaway.

I had her trapped in a corner, but she was determined to get out of it. One of her teammates quickly came up behind her and she passed it back to them. Why is no one covering the other girl? She is wide open!

The girl crossed the ball into the middle of the field, and I could do nothing but hope that my teammates would be able to prevent anyone from getting a shot.

Jill leaped up for the header, but her timing was off and the ball flew over her head, and right onto the head of the other team's offender. She headed the ball.

Vika came out of nowhere and caught the ball before it landed in the net. That was a really close call.

Vika booted the ball up the field, and the play resumed.

About twenty minutes later, I found myself being attacked by a freaking 3 on 1 from the other team. Where my other teammates were at the moment was beyond me. I had only one focus at the moment, and it was to somehow stop these girls from getting a shot at Vika.

I forced the girl who was carrying the ball to the left, but she made a sudden turn and passed it to the right to a girl who was now wide open. Shit, I don't know if I can catch up to her from here. Well, I have to at least try.

I sprinted towards the girl as fast as I could. I would be able to stop her from taking a shot from up close, but not from far away. To my relief, she held on to the ball, wanting to take the close shot. I slid in from behind her and somehow knocked the ball off of her foot without being called for a foul.

My teammates screamed as I quickly got up and cleared the ball to safety.

No more goals were scored in the first half which left our team with the lead. Alberta spent a lot of the halftime break yelling at my teammates for allowing a 3 on 1 break to occur. She also yelled at the offenders for not working well enough as a unit aside from in the first play of the game.

After Alberta finished her rant, Dimitri stepped in and said, "Girls, you need to just focus on the game. Never mind the fact that this is the finals. Just play the way you have learned to. And enjoy it while you are out there. Big final games like this only happen so often. Have fun, and play hard!"

We headed out onto the field in high spirits to begin the second half. It was a stalemate yet again. Neither team was able to get any offensive opportunities. The other defenders on my team had begun playing exceptionally better and were doing a much better job keeping up with the other team's offense.

The next forty-five minutes honestly passed by in a blur. I had been so focused on the game, and had been enjoying it so much. No one else in the game managed to get another goal which left us with a final score of 1-0.

When the final whistle blew, my team all jumped into a dog pile.

"Holy shit! I can't believe we won!" Screamed Vika.

The award ceremony for the tournament began about five minutes later.

"Thank you very much for such a great finals girls! It was truly a fantastic game!" Announced the person who would be giving out the trophy.

He then called out each team member's name from both sides to receive medals from having made it to the finals, although, my team's medals were gold while theirs were silver.

"I would now like to call the captain of each team up to give out the MVP award to a member of the other team."

I stepped forward and congratulated the girl who we had chosen to give the MVP award to. Her smile was radiant.

I stepped back in line, but was quickly called forward again by the other team's captain as being the MVP from my team. I smiled as I took the little MVP award that the tournament gives out.

"With great pleasure, I call upon the captain of The Saints to pick up this year's trophy!"

I quickly jumped forward and grabbed the huge trophy.

"We did it bitches! We actually won" I screamed which elicited laughs out of everyone.

For the next fifteen minutes, my teammates took turns holding the trophy as we took picture after picture. This truly is a moment to remember. Winning will also give us a great draw for the state championships in the spring.

After settling down, the team headed back to the hotel to shower and change before getting back on the bus. It was very cruel of the school to force us to leave the moment we had won.

About an hour later, our team and the boys' team was on the bus, heading back to the academy.

My friends and I sat in the same spots as we had before.

Dimitri turned around and smiled his beautiful smile at me. "I am so proud of you Roza."

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**So there is a lot of stuff that happened in this chapter. Maybe review one thing that you liked, and one that you didn't like about this chapter?**

**Also, I would like to respond to some reviews pertaining to where this story is heading.**

**(In order from most recent reviews to latest:)**

**To Guest (who asked about doing a time skip on the detentions as well as not being crazy about the soccer details): There will actually be a large time skip of about a month after this chapter, so detentions will be done at that point. As for not being too big on the soccer details, I feel as if it's necesary to give them since the outlying theme of this story is Rose's desire to become a professional soccer player. But it's not like the soccer scenes actually add anything from a plot perspective, so you can just skim them over if you don't enjoy them. **

**To Megpie93: I think Sydney will enter this story at some point. I am not exactly sure when though. As for people dying in this story, I'm not really planning on killing anyone off at the moment, but I suppose plans can always change. And you will have to keep reading to see how Rose spends her Christmas break (This goes for all of you other reviewers who have commented about what she should do for Christmas).**

**To LexaBelinkov: I am not planning on including anymore Jesse drama. He may still be present in the story at points, but he will definitely be a minor character.**

**To IloveEdSheeran: You will just have to see about Jill and Eddie, but they do appear to be going somewhere in this chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for the reviews and support on the last chapter. You guys are awesome!**

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**Chapter 13**

"Dimitri, I did it!" I exclaimed as I threw myself into my arms.

He smiled at me in response, his brown eyes glowing. "You did what?" He asked.

"I got A's in all of my classes for this term! Even Mr. Alto gave me an A!" I really was excited. Things like soccer and getting along with other people came naturally to me. Or, getting along with people normally comes naturally. Sometimes I just want to punch people. That's beside the point, the point is that school work does not and has not ever come easy to me. But this year, I am determined to do well. I could be one of the best soccer players in the country and still not be able to receive a scholarship with failing grades. As a result, I truly have been putting time and effort into school work.

"I knew you could do it Roza." He sighed, pulling me tighter into his arms. "You can do anything. Even the impossible."

I gave him an amused expression. "What impossible thing are you expecting me to do comrade?" I asked playfully.

"The things that you will accomplish one day are probably beyond what my imagination can even come up with."

I leaned in closer to his lips, but didn't make contact. "You're right. The things that I can do to you are definitely beyond what you can imagine," I whispered seductively. Dimitri and I still hadn't had sex, and I was beginning to get very impatient.

"Roza," He groaned as he pulled me in for a kiss. When he pulled back, we were both breathless.

"Roza, I truly had never imagined finding a woman like you. I love you so much."

After making out for about an hour, I headed back to my dorm as it was time to go to sleep. I wanted to be well rested for my training session with Dimitri tomorrow. Soccer season may have ended a month ago with our victory at the state qualifiers, but I still need to keep myself practiced up and in shape.

"God Rose, quit coming back to our dorm with sex hair! I don't need to know about it every time you and my brother are together." She growled. Admittedly, I had no access to a mirror since Dimitri and I had been in the forest earlier. I don't know what the two of us are going to do in a couple weeks when it gets too cold to sneak around outside.

"But Vika, you need to have sex to have sex hair." I replied playfully.

Vika simply glared at me before getting changed. She isn't truly mad at me; She just hates being aware of the fact that her brother is having a sex life. Well, at least she thinks he has one. She doesn't believe me when I tell her that I am still a virgin.

After waking up and training with Dimitri the next morning, I went to my first period class which was Mr. Alto's class today. He may have given me an A, but I still hate him.

"Rose," Greeted Adrian just as I walked in. "I have to talk to you about something. Can we step outside for a moment?"

"Ok, sure," I replied, feeling confused. Why does Adrian need to talk to me outside of the classroom?

"Before I tell you this, please promise me that you won't overreact and land yourself in detention." Said Adrian.

"No promise made," I replied.

"Rose," He pushed.

"Fine, what is it?" I asked excitedly, but also nervously.

"I was at Camille's yesterday-" I cut him off immediately.

"What the hell were you doing there? That girls is such a bitch!" I exclaimed.

"That's not the point Rose-"

"But-" I began, trying to cut him off again. I really don't like Camille.

"Just let me finish! So there was a medium sized group of us there, and mostly everyone there was drinking. Including Jesse and Ralf. Don't you dare say a word Rose! Just let me finish!" He exclaimed before going on. He knows me too well. "Ralf got particularly plastered and began bragging to the guys about sleeping with Meredith. Meredith thankfully wasn't at Camille's. Then, Jesse piped in and completely humiliated Ralf by telling everyone that Meredith had only slept with him because she had been desperate. Ralf replied by telling everyone that Meredith had only slept with Jesse as a means of convincing him to spread rumors about Rose. Well, that certainly stirred up quite the fight," He trailed off chuckling to himself.

"Meredith did this to me?" I exclaimed, fuming. "Why would she sleep with those two dicks just to get them to spread the rumor about me sleeping with Jesse? I have never done a thing to Meredith!"

"Rose, just relax. I told you now because class is starting any minute now, and Meredith isn't in this class so you will have time to cool down before confronting her."

I realized Adrian had a point. There was no way of getting around waiting for a while before speaking with Meredith. But when I do get the chance to confront her, well that bitch will have hell to pay!

"So Adrian," I began, slightly changing the topic. "You still didn't explain to me why you were at Camille's?"

"Oh, well that's a simple answer. Her friends are hot. And they flirt with me a lot. I had actually been about to hook up with one of the girls there when Jesse and Ralf's fight broke out."

"Adrian," I growled. "Why do you keep doing this?"

"Doing what?" He asked.

"Pretending that hooking up with these random girls is making you happy. Because it isn't! All it's doing is making you even more upset that you haven't found someone to begin a steady relationship with."

"You know Rose, some people actually have to do some looking around before meeting the person of their dreams. And you are such a hypocrite! Everyone around here says that you were the school slut last year!" He yelled. What is up with him? This is really out of character for Adrian.

"None of the rumors are true! I flirted around a lot, and made out with a couple people, but I never had sex or anything!"

He looked at me and clearly doubted my words. "Why can't you believe me?" I demanded. "You pride yourself in being so perceptive, but if you can't see that I am telling the truth then you are just as blind as every other idiot at this school!"

"Hathaway and Ivashkov!" Yelled a commanding voice. "Class started five minutes ago. My class is not a time for chit-chatting." Growled Mr. Alto.

Adrian and I glared at each other before going back to class.

Lunchtime soon came around, and I set out in search of Meredith. I eventually found her hanging out with a couple of her friends under a tree near one of the doors to the school. There were other students nearby as well. It may have been easier to have gotten Meredith alone, but maybe witnesses aren't such a bad thing. They can tell the rest of the school about how big of a bitch Meredith is.

I stormed up to her and her eyes were filled with fear.

"Rose, I'm sorry. I can't believe I-" She must have heard about Jesse and Ralf's argument as well.

"Fuck you Meredith!" I exclaimed, cutting her off. I didn't need to hear some fake apology. "Did you actually think you could get away with this? And what did I ever do to you?"

Her eyes were suddenly filled with anger. "What did you ever do to me? Well, let me see. You took over MY soccer team! You missed two years of soccer, yet you returned back to the team like some entitled little bitch. And then, because the soccer team wasn't enough for you, you had to go and dangle Adrian around in front of everyone. Adrian and I have had a deep connection since the day we met, and you are just so intent on breaking our connection."

I couldn't help but laugh outright at her. "Deep connection? Before, I just thought you were a bitch, but now, you are more than that. You are also a stupid bitch. Adrian doesn't have feelings for you! And I don't dangle him in front of everyone. He is my friend!"

Meredith impulsively tried to punch me. That was a really bad move on her part. Not only was her punch clearly sloppy considering how easily I had been able to dodge it, but now there would be witnesses to the fact that Meredith had started this fight. And it wouldn't have been long before I had thrown a punch anyways.

After Meredith failed at her attempts of trying to kick and hit me, I took her leg out which made her fall to the ground. Then, I punched her straight in the nose. A sickening cracking noise filled the air as blood started pouring from her nose.

"Rose! What are you doing?" Demanded a very angry Russian voice from behind me. I turned around to look into the eyes of Dimitri. But unlike his usual kind and gentle expression that he normally held, his face was filled with one of anger. Is he truly mad at me?

"She spread rumors about me!" I exclaimed.

"We will talk about this later," He hissed, as he helped Meredith up.

"Come on, we have to get you to the infirmary," He sighed as he leant a hand to Meredith to help her get up.

It didn't look like Dimitri was going to return again anytime soon so I headed to the cafeteria to get some food. I tried to keep all thoughts focused on the big tray of macaroni and cheese that was awaiting me, but my thoughts kept drifting back to the way Dimitri had just looked at me. He had looked at me like I was some kind of out of control lunatic. Every time I tumbled back into the memory of that look, I found myself repressing the urge to cry more and more.

When I finally got my food, I sat down beside Lissa, Christian, Eddie, and Mia.

"Rose, what happened?" Asked Lissa, her voice full of concern. "You look terrible."

Have you ever had that feeling where you were just able to repress the tears on your own, but then when someone questions you about what happened, the tears begin to fall uncontrollably. Well, that was exactly what was beginning to happen.

"Sweetie," Exclaimed Lissa. "Come on, let me walk you outside," She quickly dragged me out the back door and pulled me to a secluded area outside.

"Honey, what's wrong? You never cry." She told me softly.

"Dimitri," I moaned.

"Please, tell me he didn't hurt you!" She exclaimed.

Lissa had actually taken the news of my relationship with Dimitri very well.

Flashback:

"Lissa, can I talk to you for a couple minutes?" I had asked. I promised Vika that I would talk to Lissa, and I was finally going to do it. In a way, Vika is right. Lissa is my best friend and has the right to know about Dimitri.

"Of course," She replied. "What's up?"

How exactly am I supposed to put this. Should I slowly lead into it, or should I just outright tell her what has been going on.

"Lissa, I have been spending a lot of time with Dimitri through training with him, and we have grown kind of well, close over the last little while."

Lissa's eyes widened. "What do you mean? As in you have feelings for him or…?"

"I have more than feelings for him Liss," I began. She wasn't going to believe my next words. "I love him."

Lissa was shocked. As my best friend, she had learned to expect the unexpected from me. But well, this was an entire new level of unexpected.

"But, what, how?" She began, beginning to regain her composure, but still processing what I had told her.

"The night that I got kicked out of the restaurant that my soccer team was eating at, Dimitri spent the rest of the night with me. And at the end of the night we sat down together in a park. We had a really deep and meaningful conversation, and then we kissed. We have been sneaking around together ever since."

Lissa squealed, but then looked angry. But then she was back to looking happy. She couldn't really decide how she was supposed to feel.

"But he's Mr. Belikov, the English teacher!" She exclaimed initially. "But you love him! Wait, he does feel the same about you right?"

I nodded my head, and she squealed again. "He is really attractive! Wait, you two haven't had sex right?"

"We haven't," I confirmed.

She nodded her head in response. "Rose, why didn't you tell me about this sooner? You know you can talk to me about anything!"

"I know Liss, it's just that it is easier if no one knows. I'm really sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

She seemed content by my answer and quickly hugged me. "Be careful with him Rose. I don't want you getting in trouble. But I really am happy for you. I just hope you are sure that he isn't taking advantage of you or anything."

"He definitely isn't," I replied automatically.

I ended up spending the next hour telling Lissa all about Dimitri, and the depth of my feelings for him, and the experiences that we had together. Lissa excitedly listened and never judged me for my actions. She really is an amazing friend.

End Flashback:

"Oh no!" I exclaimed. "He would never hurt me." I then recounted my experience with Meredith today and proceeded to tell her about the way Dimitri had looked at me after seeing me throw the punch.

"Don't worry Rose." She told me automatically. "You guys love each other so much. By tonight, the two of you will have already made up."

"Do you really think that Liss?" I asked.

"Of course I do! I mean, this whole thing really isn't that big a deal. It sounds more like a misunderstanding than anything. You have Dimitri's number. Just text him and ask him to meet up somewhere in the forest like you usually do."

I smiled. Lissa really is the voice of reason sometimes. She is obviously right. I love Dimitri, and something silly like this isn't going to get in the way of us.

I pulled out my phone and texted Dimitri. 'Hi, I just wanted to talk about what happened earlier. Meet at our normal spot at some point?'

His reply was instant. 'Sure, be there in five?'

'Yes,' I quickly replied. Lissa smiled at me. "See, wasn't that easy?"

"Yeah, it was pretty easy," I replied. "I just wish everything with Dimitri could be as easy as this."

Lissa immediately sensed my sadness. "Don't worry Rose. One day, the two of you will be able to be a normal couple."

"That one day needs to hurry up and get here already," I grumbled. "I should go, I don't want to keep him waiting." I told her.

"Of course, I will see you later," She called as I began jogging towards our meeting spot.

Dimitri had of course beaten me there. I couldn't help but stare at him before going up to speak to him. The sunlight was shining on him, lightening up all of his features. He really is a god.

"Hi," I told him nervously as I walked up to him. "About earlier today, it turns out Meredith slept with Jesse and Ralf so that they would tell everyone that Jesse had slept with me. Meredith was mad at me for taking her spot as captain of the soccer team. She also thought I had somehow stolen Adrian from her."

His eyes softened, but then flared up again with anger. "She is the one who caused all of those rumors about you to circulate around the school?" He demanded.

I nodded my head. "I mean, Jesse isn't blameless of course in this situation, but he wouldn't have done any of this on his own. Besides, we already knew he was a dick."

"I'm sorry I go so angry at you earlier. I suppose you had reason to be angry. But you can't keep punching people every time you get angry Roza! You need to somehow learn to control your impulses." He lectured.

"She threw the first punch." I replied automatically. "I will tell Kirova or whoever that I just did it in an act of self-defence."

He chuckled. "I don't know about that Roza. You didn't particularly appear to be on the defensive to me."

I smirked, happy to have beaten Meredith in our fight.

"Don't be happy about that!" He chastised, reading my mind like he always does.

"I can't help it," I replied smugly.

"Roza, what am I going to do with you?" He questioned, his voice turning affectionate.

"I have a lot of ideas," I replied leaning in towards him. Our lips met in a kiss. This wasn't one of our soft and sweet kisses. I love those kisses, but I also love the kinds that we are having now. This kiss was aggressive and passionate. Our tongues battled each other for dominance, and my legs quickly wound themselves around Dimitri's waist as he lifted me from the ground.

When we broke the kiss, Dimitri put me down to my dismay.

"Rose, I have something I want to give you," He told me, reaching into his pocket. He ended up pulling out a small black box.

My eyes widened at the sight of it. He opened the box and pulled out a beautiful necklace. It had a silver chain and a clear diamond gem on it, laced with a couple of red rubies. It was very simple, but beautiful and elegant. It was then that I realized that I recognized this necklace.

"How did you know?" I exclaimed. I had seen this necklace when I was at the mall with Vika and the other girls during the state qualifiers.

"I have my sources," He replied mysteriously.

"Vika," I sighed.

He shrugged his shoulders, trying to give an evasive look. I laughed, he is just too cute.

"Dimitri, I can't, this necklace was way too expensive. " I began, when I remembered the reason that I hadn't even considered buying it.

"Don't even begin with that Roza." He replied immediately. "I love you. My money is your money. On that topic, I was wondering if you would want to meet my family at that some point. I would buy the plane ticket for you and everything. I already spoke to Vika about this, and she told me that she would tell everyone at the school that she invited you as a friend. I haven't told my family about you yet, but I know that they will love you. I just want them to meet you before they formulate opinions."

"I would love to meet your family Dimitri," I replied automatically. "But I can't let you buy me plane tickets and everything. It's all just too much." I love him so much, but I can't feel guilty about the amount of money that he spends on me since I can't see myself being able to pay him back anytime soon.

"You are worth it Roza," He replied. I saw in his eyes that he truly meant what he was saying.

"Vika and I are going back to Russia for Christmas, and I would love for you to join us."

I was stunned. Dimitri wanted me to spend Christmas with him and his family? Isn't he worried that his family may not be so accepting of my intruding on their family plans?

"You will not be an imposition Roza," He told me gently, again reading my mind. He does that a lot. "My family truly will love you."

Could he really be telling the truth? That his family could love me? Even my own family members seem incapable of loving me.

I truly was considering denying his offer, and proposing that I meet his family on a later date. I could just spend Christmas with Lissa's family like I normally do. But looking into Dimitri's eyes, I don't know how I could ever refuse the opportunity to spend quality time together with him and his family. Besides, his family and hometown really do mean a lot to him, and I would love for him to introduce me to all of his favourite people and places. I would just have to hope that his family would truly accept me.

"I would love to go," I told him with a huge smile.

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**Rose is going to Russia! Remember to Review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks for all of your support on this story. It would mean a lot to me if I could make it to 100 reviews by the end of this chapter. Your feedback is really important.**

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**Chapter 14**

"Please tell me that the two of you kissed and made up," Said Lissa as I returned from the forest.

"We did," I replied, unable to keep the huge smile from my face.

"Good," She said. "By the way, I was thinking that we should have a girl's night tonight. With just the two of us, Vika, and Mia. Are you free?" She asked eagerly.

"Yes, I am," I replied. It sounded like a perfect idea. I really do miss spending time with Lissa.

"Awesome, let's all meet in my room an hour after dinner." She said.

"Ok, that sounds good," I replied.

A couple hours later, I realized the strangest thing had occurred. I hadn't been called into Kirova's office yet for punching Meredith. I wonder what's up.

The rest of the day quickly zipped by, and I found myself at a table with nearly all of my close friends, excluding Adrian specifically. Jill was also sitting at the table with Eddie. The two of them seemed to grow closer and closer by the day. Mason was sitting beside a pretty brunette who I had met on a few occasions. I am pretty sure her name is Julia. Mason was definitely putting the moves on Julia which made me extremely happy. Mason is finally moving on.

"So I have a bunch of clothes, makeup, and nail polish all ready to go for tonight. Mia, can you bring some music?" Asked Lissa.

"Hell no," I replied automatically. "Mia has shitty taste in music," I recalled from our conversation on the back.

"What?" Demanded Mia, in mock anger. "My music will make for the single greatest dance party that this school has ever seen!"

"Whatever," Exclaimed Lissa, cutting off our bickering. "Rose, can you get some food for us to snack on?"

"Definitely," I replied. "I will bring lots of food." When I say I will bring lots of food, I mean my words. There will be way more than enough food at Lissa's tonight.

"Oh, and Vika, can you bring your docking station?" Asked Lissa.

"Sure," Replied Vika.

"I think that's everything. I just hope I'm not forgetting something," Said Lissa.

I laughed. "Chill, it will be a lot of fun either way. We will have more than enough to keep ourselves happy."

"I hope so," Replied Lissa. Lissa always goes way overboard when planning any sort of event.

Shit, Jill is sitting with us. We must look like huge bitches right now, making plans for tonight without including her. She is a sweet girl; I would be happy to spend time with her.

"Jill, you should come to," I told her, without asking for the other girls' approval. I hoped that they wouldn't mind. I can't believe Lissa hasn't already invited her though.

Jill's face lit up. "Sure, I would love to!" She told us.

As I left the cafeteria, I ran into Adrian. I feel really bad about our argument. Yes, Adrian is acting inappropriately, but I really am in no position to openly judge him.

"Adrian, I'm-" He quickly cut me off.

"Don't even Rose. I acted like a jerk earlier. I know that hooking up with all of these random girls isn't doing me any good. I just don't really know what else to do." He said sadly.

"Don't worry, you will find out soon enough what it is you are supposed to be doing. Or who you are supposed to be doing," I added in mischievously.

We both laughed for a few seconds before I realized that I had to get ready for Lissa's. "I'm sorry, I actually have to go. The girls are all going to hang out at Lissa's tonight."

"I may have something that you girls will want," He told me flirtatiously.

"Unlikely," I replied immediately in a playful tone.

He smirked. "I wouldn't be so quick to say that. Mr. Nagy has an awful tendency of leaving his liquor within easy reach of my very accepting hands." He said smugly.

Typical Mr. Nagy. God, that guy is such an idiot.

"Well then, maybe you do have something that we want," I told him.

"I thought so," He replied. I will drop some of it off at Lissa's in a bit. See you later Rose."

"Bye," I called out before rushing back to my dorm. I also had to run out to the school shop to buy food. I ended up settling for three larges bags of potato chips, a box of donuts, 12 cans of soda, and 5 large chocolate bars. That should settle us for the evening.

I got to Lissa's room about ten minutes late, and everyone else was already there. Lissa excitedly gave me a big hug, and I proceeded to sit on her bed.

"So what are we going to do tonight?" I asked the girls.

Vika mischievously turned her head towards our alcohol stash. I had assumed that Adrian would give us a bottle of some cheap junk. Boy was I wrong. Apparently Mr. Nagy drinks expensive alcohol. There were three full bottles of vodka, whiskey, and rum hiding in a corner in Lissa's room.

I followed her gaze and couldn't help but feel surprised by how much I wanted to have a few drinks tonight. Tonight would be a good night to drink considering soccer season is over. I also don't have to worry about getting into too much trouble if I have just the girls with me.

"We should play Never Have I Ever," Exclaimed Mia. "We haven't done that since we were in like middle school. Besides, we have a few new additions to our little group that need to be interrogated," She said, directing her comment towards Vika and Jill.

The five of us quickly formed a circle and poured half shots that were to be drunk by the losers of each round. And when I say half shots, I mean single half shots. I am not going to make the same mistake as last time.

"I'll go first," Said Mia. "Never have I ever gone further than making out." That seemed to be a pretty typical line for this game. Oh shit, what am I supposed to say? Vika is here. Oh no, Vika is intently looking at me right now. Normally I would just take down the shot and proudly state whoever I had been intimate with, but this is an entirely different situation. Mia and Jill don't even know about ym relationship with Dimitri, and it would be best for it to stay that way for the time being.

Lissa had already taken down her drink which didn't come as a surprise to anyone. What did surprise me was that Vika also took down her drink.

"Vika?" I exclaimed excitedly. She smiled playfully at me in return. "Who?" I asked.

"Oh no, not until you decide whether you are going to drink or not. The fact that you are this obviously unsure of whether to drink or not proves that you have done more than making out Rose," She said. "It's ok if you have." It seemed like it took a fair bit of struggle for her to get the last few words out, but she had. I couldn't help but smile. Vika had finally given me her full approval. Lissa also smiled when she picked up on what was going on.

I sighed and took down my drink. My mouth burned with the aftertaste of the whiskey. "Ugh, I need some coke or something," I mumbled as I opened a can of it and started drinking the taste away. The other girls simply laughed at me. "What? I don't like the taste of alcohol," I exclaimed.

"Neither do we Rose," Laughed Lissa. "It's just funny that a bad-ass like you has trouble drinking a half a shot."

"Shut up," I replied, although I of course know that they are just joking.

"Damn, I feel like a prude in this room," Exclaimed Mia. The rest of us laughed.

"Oh guys, I have one!" Exclaimed Lissa. "Never Have I Ever-" I cut her off.

"No! Just wait Lissa. Vika?" I asked expectantly, looking in her direction.

She actually started blushing. I have never seen Vika be anything but confident before.

"Don't worry V," Said Jill who hadn't spoken up much until this point. "We won't judge you." The rest of us nodded our heads in agreement.

"Is it Nikholi?" I asked excitedly.

Vika smiled but shook her head. "Why not?" I demanded. "That boy has a such a big crush on you!"

"I know he does," Replied Vika. "I just don't feel that way about him."

I wanted to push her, and to try to convince her that Nikholi would be good for her, but then I reconsidered. Everyone used to always nag me about getting together with Mason and it really annoyed me. When you don't have feelings for someone, you don't have feelings for someone.

"Ok, then who is it?" I asked.

"It's just kind of embarrassing. It was just a fling and the two of us have hardly even looked at each other since." She sighed.

"Do you have feelings for him?" I asked.

"No," She replied automatically. I stared her down, searching for the truth. "Maybe," She finally added. Lissa squealed in excitement.

"Just don't be mad at me Rose, ok?" Said Vika. I don't get it, why would I be mad at her.

"Vika, I don't think I could get mad at you. There is only one person who I wouldn't approve of you hooking up with, and well, I don't think there's much risk in you getting intimate with him anytime soon." I joked.

"Gross, don't give me mental images Roza!" Chastised Vika. "It's bad enough to know that you have been with him that way!"

Mia finally jumped into the conversation. "Rose, who is it?" She asked. "What is up with the two of you right now? Why are you being so secretive?"

I didn't really know what to say in response which was a rarity for me. I always knew what to say. Sensing my issue, Vika jumped in. "Ok fine, it was Adrian. Before you judge me or anything, let me tell you my side of the story!" As much as I wanted to question her to death, I stayed silent, and so did the others.

"A couple days after that party in the woods where I hooked up with Rolan, there was a small party in Shane's room." I recognized Shane as being the name of one of the guys in my math class. "Nikholi is friends with Shane, so he convinced me to go with him. Adrian was at the party, and was really sweet the entire night. I had been drinking pretty heavily, so Adrian stepped in and stopped me from having more. I remember that my head began to kill, so Adrian and I went for a walk outside in the forest. We just sat there and talked for nearly an hour. After sobering up a bit, I began to be a bit more flirtatious with him. One thing led to another and…" She trailed off, implying the rest.

"You do like him!" Squealed Lissa. Although my heart was breaking for Vika if she did truly have feelings for Adrian. After the few conversations I have had with him today, it doesn't seem like he is very interested in Vika. Damn him! All of my anger towards Adrian had returned. He can't just play with people's feelings! It's not fair to any of the girls he has been involved with. And to hook up with Vika? Vika was supposed to be his friend! What he did to her was truly a dick move.

Vika nodded in response. Shit. Maybe I shouldn't tell her tonight, I just want tonight to be fun. So, I just smiled in response.

"Ok, well, this makes what I was about to say before a little awkward," Said Lissa. "I was going to say Never Have I Ever flirted with Adrian Ivashkov."

"Well, you said it," I told Lissa. "I guess we all have to drink up then except for you Liss." The four of us took down our drinks.

Jill's turn was next. "Ok, so we didn't really get enough detail from Mia's question. Never have I ever had sex." She said with more confidence than I had ever heard in her voice.

Lissa again drank immediately which didn't come as a surprise to anyone, but no one else drank. Good, at least Vika and Adrian didn't go all the way.

"You're a virgin?" Exclaimed Mia looking towards me. "Are you shitting me or something?"

"Why does everyone always assume that I have lots of sex?" I demanded in return.

"Oh, sorry," Said Mia instantly. "I just, I don't know. It was stupid." We left it at that without furthering the discussion. Damn, this is supposed to be a carefree girl's night. Why is there so much drama?

Thankfully, the drama ended after that. As we drank more and more, our conversations became sillier and sillier. I had taken about six shots which had given me a nice buzz. The other girls were beginning to get tipsy.

"I think that's enough for us for today," I slightly slurred, as I put the alcohol away. I didn't want anyone getting sick or anything. Wait, when did I get this responsible? Did I actually just put the alcohol away before Lissa did? Dammit, I blame Dimitri for this weird new attitude of mine.

"I think it's time for some music!" I exclaimed as I plugged in my IPod before Mia could plug hers in. I had made a playlist called 'Dance' before coming over tonight. The first song on the list was Sexy and I know it. True, it's not my normal style of music to listen to, but it's a hell of a song to dance to.

The five of us quickly got up and started pulling the most outrageous dance moves we could think of. By the time the song ended, we were all dying of laughter.

The next song on the list was dynamite. Lissa squealed in excitement. The two of us had had to dance to this song in a performing arts class in ninth grade. We had decided that the moves that our class was using were far too boring, and decided to "sex the dance up," during our own time.

"Let us demonstrate how this is done!" I yelled, pulling Lissa towards me. We both started provocatively swaying our hips, shaking our asses, and pumping our chests in ways that would be extraordinarily inappropriate to be seen doing in public.

"Shit, you two were some slutty ninth graders!" Exclaimed Mia when the song ended.

Lissa and I laughed, not even attempting to deny her claim.

We spent an hour more dancing together before we all collapsed, needing to take a break. "I'm so tired," Exclaimed Lissa.

"Time to eat!" I declared. The five of us tore into the food that I brought, but we barely managed to make a dent in it.

"Roza, we are going to have this food leftover in our room for months!" Exclaimed Vika.

Lissa laughed. "You clearly don't know Rose. This food wouldn't even last for a couple days if it made it back to your room." We both laughed.

After eating, we all painted each other's nails and talked some more.

"Jill, what's up with you and Eddie?" Asked Vika. "I have been dying to know."

"So have I," I added.

Her cheeks blushed immediately at the mention of Eddie's name. "He's a good friend," She replied. "He is the nicest guy I have ever met." He green eyes shone as she seemed to get lost in thought about Eddie. Her green eyes really are beautiful. They almost remind me of Lissa's eyes.

"Eddie needs to man up and ask you out already." I told her.

"I don't know if he feels that way about me," Said Jill sadly. "He has never flirted with me or anything."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Jill, this is Eddie we are talking about. He isn't exactly the biggest flirt."

"I guess, but he still hasn't given me signs or anything to suggest that he likes me as more than a friend."

"Well, one day he will." I told Jill. "I have known Eddie for a long time, and I have never seen him grow this attached to someone."

"Oh my god, maybe he will ask you to the Christmas dance!" Squealed Lissa. Oh no, I had almost forgotten about the school dance. They have been a bit of fun in the past. Our school does get very enthusiastic about them at least. There are always huge amounts of people grinding and dancing as if they were in a club. I used to always enjoy that, but what would I do this time around? It's not like I'm going to go with a date this year. Honestly, I would rather just spend time with Dimitri than even bothering to go to the dance again this year.

"Getting the attention off of me," Said Jill. "Mia, do you like Mason?"

"Yeah," Replied Mia quickly. I am glad that someone aside from Lissa in this group is able to properly express their feelings. "But he has never really taken much of a look at me. We are friendly with one another, and that's it. He has never gone out of his way to talk to me or anything," She said sadly.

"Well then go out of your way to talk to him," I told Mia. "He's a friendly guy, and he likes to flirt. So flirt with him. Let him know you are interested."

"I have been trying Rose. It's hard though. Not everyone can flirt like you can. I never know what to say."

"Well then, just talk to him, and be flirtatious if possible." I told her.

"I will try," She said.

My nails were all done being painted. My fingers were bright red while my toes were green.

An hour later, we all headed back to our own rooms. The night hadn't been drama free, but it had been a lot of fun in the end. We should really do things like this more often.

When Vika and I got back to our room, I checked my phone and found a text from Dimitri. 'Hi,' Was all it said. Even his texts are cute.

'Hi Dimitri' I replied.

'I can't wait for you to meet my family.' He told me. Oh no, I forgot to tell Lissa that I would be going to Russia. I hope she's not mad.

'I'm excited to meet them too. I just hope they will like me as much as you say they will.'

'They will probably like you even more than I have told you that they would.' He replied.

"Stop sexting my brother!" Demanded Vika.

"We're not sexting," I replied.

"You better not be," She grumbled.

'Thanks, I really do love you.' I replied to Dimitri.

'I love you too.' He replied automatically.

Suddenly an idea started forming in my mind.

"Vika, can I ask you for a huge favour. A favour as in I will owe you big time if you can do this one little thing for me?" I asked her.

"Possibly, what is it?" She asked curiously.

How am I to phrase this? I don't want to be too direct or anything. A gentle delivery of the message would be best. "I want to spend the night with Dimitri." Damn, I need to work on being more subtle.

Vika gave me a disgusted look. "Why would you want to do that?" She joked, but her face turned back to being serious a moment later.

"Please Vika. I know that I can easily sneak out of our room and into Dimitri's. I mean, I have done it before."

"Of course you have," She replied.

"I just need someone to cover for me in case anyone gets suspicious."

"Fine, I will do it. I suggest you leave before I change my mind."

"Thank you, thank you!" I told her as I gave her a quick hug. "I just have to let Dimitri know I'm coming." I sent him a quick text asking if he wanted to spend the night together, and he quickly answered back, 'yes.'

"Coming, ugh," Moaned Vika. "Why, of all boys on this planet, did you have to choose Dimitri?" Complained Vika.

"He's just the one." I replied.

"You two are disgusting. Have fun, well, not too much fun!" She exclaimed. I laughed as I began sneaking out the window.

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**Ready for a hot night with Dimka? **

**Also, I am trying to incorporate some side plots with Rose's friends. Lots of you have expressed interest in seeing relationships develop between some of Rose's friends. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, so I have decided to change the rating on this story from T to M. There were already some questionable scenes earlier in this story to be present in T, and this chapter is definitely M-rated. I hate to spoil anything, but this chapter may potentially contain a lemon. **

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**Chapter 15**

I easily made it to Dimitri's room again and quietly knocked on his window. I looked down at my outfit and silently cursed when I realized that I was wearing baggy sweat pants. My outfit definitely wasn't doing anything good for my body. Well, what he can see at the moment at least isn't doing any good for it. I am wearing a particularly sexy bra and pantie set out of good fortune.

Dimitri opened up the window for me and lifted me into his room.

"I was really happy when you asked me if I wanted to spend the night," Said Dimitri seductively.

"I'll bet you were," I replied with a smile. I leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Well, it was supposed to have been a quick kiss, but he ended up locking his arms around me and pulling me closer. But then he pulled away.

"Roza, are you drunk?" He asked, with clear pain in his eyes.

"I'm not drunk!" I replied.

He arched up an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me Roza. You taste and smell like alcohol. Don't even try to deny that you were drinking tonight."

"Comrade, I was drinking a little bit with the girl tonight. But I only got buzzed, and the effect has all worn off already." I told him.

He shook his head. "It takes about an hour for the body to process a shot. I highly doubt that you have instantly sobered up."

"So what if I am only mildly buzzed right now?" I asked him. "The only thing that I want tonight is the same thing that I have been wanting for ages." I told him pleadingly. I can't believe he has been holding sex out on me for so long. I had been sure a couple of the times we had been together that he would crack. "I love you." I told him softly.

"I love you to Roza," He replied, eyes filled with lust. And with that he swept me into his large arms and lifted me off the ground, and attached his lips to mine. I think tonight is finally going to be the night.

**M Scene Starts:**

His hands were everywhere, tracing down my neck, back, hips, but then he would retreat and he would bring his hands back up to my hair. It feels so good when he touches me. It's like he is putting my body into a world of oblivion and joy. His lips were glued to mine, kissing with such intensity and passion that I felt like I was going to melt. Dimitri is the only man I have ever met who possesses this much passion and intensity. He was still holding me up in the air, and my legs were wrapped around his waist while my arms were locked around his shoulders.

At the same moment, our tongues started battling with one another, fighting for dominance. I was completely breathless, but didn't once consider breaking the kiss. I pressed myself even closer to him and he squeezed his arms around me, pressing me into his perfect body.

"Dimitri," I moaned. My moans must have turned him on ever more because he threw me down onto his bed and attacked me with kisses. He roughly kissed down my neck as his hands started sliding up my shirt. I also started trailing my hands along his chest and abs, feeling his perfectly hard muscles. We were both moaning uncontrollably by this point, needing to fully be with one another.

I lifted Dimitri's shirt and threw it away. He tightly gripped onto the fabric of my top and did the same. The cold air hit me and sent shivers throughout my body. But the shivers went away the second that Dimitri was on me again. He always makes me feel warm and comfortable. And right now, he is making me fucking hot.

After kissing each others lips for another couple minutes, I started kissing down Dimitri's neck, chest, and every bit of exposed skin possible. I moved slowly, letting each and every kiss linger. But wow, was it ever hard to go slow with this man. I just wanted to jump him already.

As I made my way closer to his bottoms he stopped me.

"Not yet Roza," He sighed as he took his turn kissing my stomach. He was moving slowly, and didn't try to remove the bra at any point. Rather, he was taking his sweet time, giving both soft and hot fiery kisses to every inch of my body. I was nearly squirming in pleasure.

Please Dimitri," I cried out after another five minutes of this torture.

"I like it when you beg Roza," He began and started kissing his way lower and lower down my chest. Just as he was about to reach my core, he stopped. "But begging isn't going to get you anywhere tonight." He was staring at me with both lust and love filling his eyes. He was definitely checking out the red lacy bra that I was wearing as well. I think he is going to burst when he sees the matching, barely there thong that goes with it.

"You tease," I scolded as I started kissing his neck. "But two can play at that game." I rolled on top of Dimitri and started grinding myself on him as our lips met again. He reached around and squeezed my ass and I cried out in pleasure. I had no idea that such little things could make me go so crazy.

I could feel him growing harder as I continued rubbing my body on his. Dimitri let out a string of Russian curses as I began kissing his neck again.

He swore again and flipped me over, kissing me even more intensely than he had been before. His earlier kisses were intense and passionate, but this took everything to a new level. This kiss screamed, 'I want you.' And shit, did I ever want Dimitri.

His fingers began trailing down to my pants and he very slowly slipped a hand inside, letting his hand rub my thighs. Feeling impatient, I stripped off my pants. Just as I had predicted, his eyes widened at the sight of me.

"You are so beautiful, it hurts." He moaned.

"Yeah, I can imagine that tightness in your pants does hurt," I replied snarkily.

He smiled. "I love you so much." And then his fingers started rubbing along the outside of my panties.

"Dimitri!" I cried out as he began quickening the pace.

"You like this Roza?" He asked as he slipped a finger in and started rubbing me directly.

I could barely reply, so I just moaned in response.

"This is nothing compared to what I am going to do to you tonight," He hissed as he unclipped my bra and attached his mouth to one of my nipples, still using his fingers to drive me crazy. I could feel the pressure building and knew that I wasn't going to last much longer. Sensing this, Dimitri removed his finger and removed my underwear leaving me fully naked.

He kissed his way from my stomach down past my core, and the slowly made his way back up. When his tongue finally connected with me, I quivered in anticipation.

He slowly licked, and sucked, and even nibbled occasionally, never letting me go over the edge. He then slowly inserted a finger in me and I nearly screamed. He pushed his finger in and out, all while delicately kissing and licking at me. But it wasn't enough, I needed more of him. With all the will power I could muster, I pushed myself away and lunged at his pants. This time he didn't push me away, and he allowed me to remove his pants and boxers. The sight left before me was magnificent. He was rock hard and looked hotter than anything had ever been before.

He noticed me staring at him, and I smiled up at him, as I slowly began touching at his hardness. He moaned the second I made contact. I slowly took his tip into my mouth, and started delicately licking at it, teasing him the way he had done to me earlier. He let out another string of Russian curses as I took as much of him in as I possibly could. He was way too big to get it all in my mouth though. Is he even going to fit into me?

All worries were cast aside when he lifted me up and pushed me back onto his bed. He reached over to his drawer and pulled out a condom.

"Are you sure about this Roza?" He asked. "If you aren't comfortable-" I cut him off.

"Shut up and please just fuck me already," I moaned. His lips met mine as he opened up the condom's wrapper. I slid it onto him, never breaking eye contact with his beautiful brown eyes.

He positioned himself over me and slowly began to slide in to me. I cried out from the sudden intrusion and felt a sharp pain go through my lower body.

"Shit, am I hurting you?" He gasped as he slowly began pulling out.

"NO!" I screeched, pulling him towards me. And it was true. As suddenly as the pain had come, it disappeared. Now I was definitely ready.

He smiled as he slowly began pushing himself back in again. Oh god, he feels so good. When he was finally in, he very slowly started pumping in and out.

"Fuck," I screamed as waves of pleasure began to fill my body.

As amazing as Dimitri felt in me, I loved just feeling so close to him as well. I love the way his weight presses into me, and how he moans my name over and over again, trailing kisses along my body.

I started matching each of his thrusts with my hips, wanting to feel more. When this wasn't enough, I moaned, "Faster." Dimitri complied and instantly sped up, clearly feeling the same need as me. Whatever pressure I had felt earlier was at least doubled. My body was beginning to shake uncontrollably, but I was having a hard time reaching my breaking point. As if on cue, Dimitri reached down and started rubbing circles on my clit.

A minute of this and I was done for. "Dimitri! I'm going to..." I trailed off as my world exploded into one of pure bliss and pleasure. I screamed out and dug my nails onto Dimitri's back as I rode out the orgasm. A minute later Dimitri cried out his own release as he collapsed on top of me. We were both breathless and speechless for the next minute as Dimitri lied on top of me.

**M Scene Ends**

"That was amazing," I gasped out.

"Incredible," He agreed. "You are so perfect Roza," He sighed as he slowly got up to clean himself off.

"Don't you dare get dressed!" I called out to him.

He chuckled. "Wouldn't dream of it Roza."

A moment later, he returned and kissed me slowly, and lovingly. We both let our hands freely roam around the others bodies, simply exploring them. He brought his hands up to m back eventually and started massaging. He applied just the right amount of pressure as he rubbed my back and neck.

"Dimitri," I sighed as I wrapped my arms closer around him. His body felt so warm and strong against mine. I let one of my fingers play with his hair, twirling it around on a finger, enjoying the silkiness of it.

His phone then started to ring. "Ignore it," He instructed, but when I checked the caller I.D., I saw that it was his mom calling.

"You should answer it," I told him. "I wish my mom would call me just to say hi." He looked at me with a look of sadness, and quickly pressed a kiss onto my forehead before answering the phone. He held me tightly in one of his arms while he spoke with his mother in Russian.

After about five minutes he put the phone down and turned to me. "Roza, I still haven't told my mama about you." He told me. "We are going to have to tell her eventually. Would you rather I tell her now, or would you rather we tell the rest of my family together when we are in Russia?" My heart fluttered at the thought of going to Russia with him. This all seems too good to be true.

"I want to tell your family together," I told him. "I want them to at least give me a chance before disapproving of me since I am your student."

"My family's not like that Roza," Said Dimitri. "My mama will just be happy that I'm happy."

"Let's tell them together," I told him again, sticking to my decision. I wouldn't admit it to Dimitri, but I was afraid if we told them now and they didn't approve of me that they wouldn't let me come to Russia.

"Ok," He told me, giving me a sweet kiss on the lips before picking up the phone again.

He spoke for another five minutes, most of it in a tone of voice implying that he wanted to end the conversation. But his mama must have had more to say. I wonder what my mom has been up to lately. I wonder if she is still seeing 'what's his face.' And as always, what about my dad? Life could have been so different if dad would have been around all this time.

But do I really want a different life? Looking at Dimitri now, I know the answer is no. But it still would be nice to have a family of my own. I mean, Dimitri and Lissa are basically all I have.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Asked Dimitri who was staring at me intently. His conversation must have ended. And damn, he can just read me like a book. What's the point in even trying to keep things from him.

"I wish I had a family." I blurted out. "I wish my mom wasn't a selfish bitch who wishes I had never been born, and I wish my dad wasn't an asshole who left me before I was even born. I am so fucking screwed up!" I moaned.

"Screwed up?" He questioned as he hugged me and pulled me close. "On what universe? You are loved by everyone. Your friends adore you. How can you believe that there is something wrong with you? You know Rose, you aren't your parents."

"My parents don't want me!" I cried out. "They don't want to have anything to do with me. I am nothing more than an inconvenience to them."

"Roza, you don't know that." He replied. "And if they honestly don't think of you as more than an inconvenience, then it is their own damn fault for missing out on spending time with you. You are my life Roza, even if your relationship with your parents doesn't mend itself, you will still have me, and my family. They will seriously love you."

"I guess, I'm sorry Dimitri. I guess I just can't help but think about what some parts of my life may have been like if I had normal parents like everyone else had." I told him, not wanting to break down, and not wanting to ruin this otherwise perfect night.

"Don't be sorry," He told me softly. "I want you to open up to me whenever you are feeling like this."

I nodded my head, and we both lied down on his bed, still both naked, pressing each other's bodies against one another, simply wanting to be close. At some point, I fell asleep in his strong and warm arms.

* * *

**Sorry that the chapter is a little short, but it made sense to cut it off here. Also, sorry if you aren't really into lemons. I know this was initially T rated, so I hope there aren't too many issues.**

**So was the night with Dimka hot enough? Also, Russia trip is coming up real soon. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks for the reviews guys. Specifically, thanks to a guest who mentioned a slight error I had in one of my previous chapters. If I have stupid grammatical stuff or anything like that, I would like if you would point it out because I am more than happy to go back and fix whatever the mistake was.**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

My eyes flickered open, and I found myself wrapped in Dimitri's strong and warm arms. Our legs were also intertwined with one another. Last night's events came rushing back to me. God, I love Dimitri so much.

I drifted my gaze over to the clock on Dimitri's nightstand and found that it was only 4:00 A.M. It would be nice to fall asleep again, but it would be nice to just lie in Dimitri's arms as well. But I need to roll over. How do I do this without waking him up?

I tried to unwrap myself (only momentarily of course) from Dimitri's body, but the moment I moved his eyes shot open. He must be a light sleeper.

His brown eyes slowly began to gain more consciousness as they opened more widely.

"I love you Roza," He murmured as he pressed his lips against mine, with such a soft and tender touch that I felt like I was going to swoon. His morning voice was deep, husky, and utterly sexy.

"Mmm," I sighed as he kissed me. Our bodies were still tightly pressed together, and he rested his hand on my cheek pulling us closer together. He lifted his other hand and softly began stroking through my hair. His light touches were giving me shivers. It was incredible how every little touch we shared could have such an effect on me.

"I love you Dimitri," I replied when he pulled away. "So freaking much."

He smiled his beautiful smile as he held me closer.

"You should get some sleep Roza. I don't want you to be tired tomorrow." Said Dimitri as he pecked a light kiss onto my forehead.

"I guess," I told him sadly, loving the prospect of just laying here with him. I leaned in for a goodnight kiss, but when our lips met, a spark seemed to ignite between both of us. Our kiss was filled with urgency and need for the other. It was filled with so much passion and love as well. I can't believe this god of a man loves me.

As I pulled him even closer to me, I could feel him start to harden. I was definitely turning him on. I love that I can do this to him.

"Roza," Moaned Dimitri, as he started kissing down my neck.

We made love again, and held tightly onto each other until Dimitri's alarm went off. I threw a pillow at it, which obviously didn't turn the stupid screeching off. Dimitri looked at me and chuckled.

"What? I hate mornings," I muttered. "Never mind that actually. I loved this morning," I sighed, again getting lost in those bottomless eyes. I can't believe that I, bad-ass Rose Hathaway, has turned into such a softy. I guess Dimitri can just do things to me that no one else can.

"Are we training this morning?" Asked Dimitri.

"Yes," I replied excitedly. Dimitri looked shocked. I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. Well, he did have the right to be surprised. As much as I want to just lie here with Dimitri forever, I also know that I have to keep up my soccer skills. I can't let myself get too distracted from soccer.

"You always amaze me," He told me, gazing intently at me. "You surprise me daily, yet I feel like I can predict your every move."

I smiled back. "That doesn't even make sense comrade, maybe we should get some coffee in you," I told him jokingly.

He got up to get dressed, and I quickly got up and jumped on him.

"No, don't do that," I told him as he began to slip on a pair of pants.

I wasn't wearing anything at this point, and Dimitri's eyes were again filled with lust as he gazed at my body wrapped around his.

"Are you beginning to doubt your self control?" I asked him seductively.

"I have doubted it since the moment I met you," He replied lovingly. "But for once, I am actually going to maintain control," He said, as he playfully threw me onto the bed and continued getting dressed. I exaggerated a moan of disappointment as I watched his beautiful body disappeared under his clothes. I have never hated clothes as much as I do now.

"Here," Said Dimitri, tossing me my shirt and shorts. "Put these on before I change my mind."

"Clothes or no clothes, I could make you change your mind," I told him confidently.

He didn't reply, since he knew I was right. He just wasn't going to admit it.

The two of us went to the deserted cafeteria and ate breakfast together, laughing and chatting animatedly the entire time. It almost felt like we were a normal couple.

* * *

"Lissa, I'm going to spend Christmas in Russia with Vika and Dimitri." I told her as we sat together alone during lunch. Now seemed as good a time as any to tell her.

"You don't want to spend Christmas with me?" Sighed Lissa as her eyes dropped. She wasn't angry with me, but she was definitely sad.

"I love spending Christmas with you Liss, it's just that I wanted to try something different. I feel bad that your family always has to put up with me."

Lissa's green eyes flared. "Rose, how many times have we gone through this? You are welcome to spend time with my family whenever you want!" She exclaimed. "Besides, do you really think the Belikovs are going to be more accepting of you, a high school student who is dating their son, than my family would be?"

Now that one was a low blow. Lissa knows how worried I always am about how people will perceive me and Dimitri as a couple. Lissa looked like she was somewhat regretting her words, but she wasn't apologizing.

"Maybe they will be!" I replied to her, now angry. She is supposed to be happy for me. "I have to at least give this a try!" I told her.

"You love him more than me," Sighed Lissa.

Lissa simply looked sad now. Any traces of anger that she may have had were gone. I knew exactly how she was feeling. I felt like I wasn't important to her anymore when she began dating Christian. It still is hard to share Lissa with Christian, but he makes her really happy and I have come to accept that. Lissa always leaves a place in her heart for me, just as I have always left one for her.

"Have fun in stupid Russia," She muttered as she got up to leave.

"Lissa, wait," I called out to her, but she ignored me and basically ran out. Shit. I obviously never meant to hurt her. But am I really wrong for wanting to go to Russia?

* * *

A week passed by and Lissa was still ignoring me. She has never avoided me like this before. Why is she so mad at me? Christian had told me countless amounts of time that I needed to go talk to her, and that she was a mess, but I wouldn't do it. She is the one avoiding me, so she should be the one to come and talk to me. Dimitri has told me countless amounts of times that I am being stubborn. I won't admit it to him, but I do know he is right.

"Roza, we are leaving tomorrow morning. You are going to be upset for a lot of the trip if you don't make up with Lissa," Said Dimitri, holding onto both of my hands. His long fingers were tenderly rubbing and squeezing my hands in a comforting way. "I want you to enjoy the trip. You deserve a fun and relaxing holiday." He said, with his brown eyes blazing into mine.

"Fine, I will talk to her," I told him. No one else could have ever convinced me to do this. But how can I say no to Dimitri when he asks me like that? If I was a guy, I would definitely say that I was whipped. Dammit.

But then he grabbed me and pulled me closer to him, placing his lips on mine. All thoughts of being "whipped," had vanished. So what if I would do almost anything to make Dimitri happy? I love it when he is happy. And I know that he wants what is best for me, so maybe taking his advice won't backfire on me. And wow, does Dimitri ever make me happy.

His strong arms held me tightly as he kissed me passionately and lovingly. There was no such thing as a dull kiss when it came to the two of us.

But far too soon he pulled away. His dark eyes were still filled with passion and love, emotions that I had never seen anyone else illicit out of him.

"I love you Roza. Go talk to Lissa already,"He said, pushing me further away from him.

"But I can talk to her whenever. We are finally getting alone time," I sighed. "You know what we can do when we get time alone..." I trailed off, while twirling my hair on a finger, a sight that I knew would instantly turn him on. I wanted Dimitri really badly. We hadn't had sex again since our first time. Snow had fallen on the ground, so it had become inconvenient for Dimitri and I to meet in the forest. Now, we were left with only the option of me sneaking into his dorm room. An option that Vika wasn't particularly thrilled with.

"Roza," Growled Dimitri.

"I love you," I told him, continuing the innocent act.

"And I love you, which is why you are going to talk to Lissa now. We leave tomorrow and will get plenty of time alone in Russia." Said Dimitri, clearly mustering all his will power to turn me away in this context.

This is definitely going to be one hell of a trip. "Fine, I will see you tomorrow morning comrade. Sleep well."

"I would wish you luck with Lissa, but you don't need it. The two of you will make up the instant you knock on her door." Said Dimitri kindly.

I slipped out of his window, careful as always to make sure that no one was around to see. It is by great fortune that Dimitri's window is on the back of the building and that very few are ever behind the staff building.

I made my way over to Lissa's room and knocked on the door softly. It took about a minute for Lissa to answer, and when she did, I could see that her hair was a mess.

"Who the fuck is it Liss?" Demanded Christian. "Tell them you're busy!"

"Bad time?" I asked jokingly.

"Rose!" Squealed Lissa, pulling me into a hug. "I'm sorry, I totally overreacted. I wanted to talk to you over these past few weeks so badly, but you weren't talking to me, and I thought you were mad at me, and I-"

"Take a breath Lissa, and it's fine. It's my fault also for springing the news on you like that, without having at least talked things over with you."

Lissa squealed again before releasing me. Then Christian strolled up to the door.

"I swear Rose, I have been telling you to talk to her all week. And you have to pick this exact instant to come and talk to her?" He groaned.

"Sorry to be a cock blocker Chrissy," I joked. "From what I hear, it's not like you have very much of one to block anyways."

Christian and I truly had a ridiculous relationship. Christian raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.

"Well I would presume Lissa didn't tell you that, so who might I ask, told you that?" He asked, eager to see how I would reply.

"Your mom!" I retorted.

Lissa laughed and Christian just shook his head. "That comeback is so five years ago. And you and my mother are twisted creatures to be talking about me like that."

I just shook my head. As much as I hate to admit it, I have missed Christian lately. It's been ages since I have seen him.

"Come on, can the two of you try for once to act like normal people around one another?" Asked Lissa, shaking her head.

"No," We both replied in unison. And then we both smirked. God dammit Christian.

"Now that your little reunion is over, would you mind leaving?" Asked Christian.

"Be nice Christian, she can stay." Said Lissa. Christian groaned and took a seat on Lissa's couch.

"So impatient," I taunted Christian. "And so desperate."

He just glared at me and turned on the TV.

"So when are you leaving for Russia? I really am excited for you." Said Lissa. I smiled at her.

"Tomorrow morning actually." I replied.

Lissa gasped. "But that means you are missing the school dance! I planned the dance this year! I can't even imagine you not being there!"

"An evening without Rose. What a travesty!" Remarked Christian sarcastically.

Because Russia is so far away, the Belikovs figure that they may as well extend their stay for as long as possible. The three of us were leaving a week before the break actually started.

"Shut up," I replied to Christian. "And Liss, I am really sorry about missing the dance. But it didn't make sense to spend so much money on plane tickets to only get to stay with Vika and Dimitri's family for less than two weeks."

"It's fine I guess." Sighed Lissa. "It's just hard, it's like you are pulling away from me and the rest of our friends. Vika and I have definitely noticed that you are always sneaking off with Dimitri in the evenings which is fine, but we would appreciate it if you would also consider spending more time with us. I know it's hard sometimes, and I get that you want to see Dimitri, but I still make time for you and my other friends despite having Christian around. Eddie and Mason are worried that they have done something to upset you since it has been so long since you guys have all hung out together. And don't even get me started on Adrian, he is constantly asking me what you have been up to."

Was I really treating my friends this terribly? Pulling away from them like Lissa had said I was? The thought made me sick. I love my friends to death.

"Shit, am I really doing that?" I asked her.

She nodded her head in response. "It's kind of one of the reasons I got so mad that you were going to Russia with Dimitri. I thought that Christmas was finally going to be a time to reconnect with you again. I swear, the only quality time that I have spent with you in over a month was on our girls night."

"Lissa, I am so so sorry. You know that I never meant to pull away from you, or from any of my other friends. Well, aside from Chrissy sissy of course," I remarked jokingly. Christian didn't even look up in response. Jackass. "But in all seriousness, I swear I will be better after the break. I will be better to everyone."

"Good," Said Lissa. "Because I have so much that I have to tell you about!" Exclaimed Lissa. It simply wasn't in her nature to hold a grudge. She was too forgiving of a person.

Lissa and I spent the rest of the night gossiping, and openly chatting with each other about everything just as we normally do. All the while, Christian was not so patiently waiting for me to leave. Whatever. All I care about is that I have my friend back, and that I'm not going to be stupid enough to lose her again.

"So how is Dimitri?" Asked Lissa. "You spend so much time with him, but you haven't really told me much about what you do together."

"Well, last week, I stayed over at his place for the night." I told her excitedly. I didn't even try keeping my voice down for Christian. Christian knew about my relationship with Dimitri. I had told Lissa that she could tell him about it a while ago. Christian may be an ass, but he won't tell a soul.

"Oh my god!" Exclaimed Lissa. "You didn't?"

"We did!" I replied. Lissa squealed again, and hugged me as we jumped around.

"How was it?" Exclaimed Lissa.

"Hell no!" Exclaimed Christian. "I do not need to hear about your sex life with Mr. Belikov." Muttered Christian.

"Grow up!" I replied. "And you can just call him Dimitri."

"He's my fucking English teacher. To me, he is Mr. Belikov."

"Well he is my fucking boyfriend!" I replied. "You can call him Dimitri."

"I already know that he is your boyfriend, that apparently, you are fucking! Just be careful Rose. You guys are going to be in so much shit if anyone ever catches the two of you."

"Christian!" Exclaimed Lissa.

"No Lissa, she needs to hear it from someone already!" Replied Christian. "Yes, I understand that you two love each other. But you can't seriously expect to get away with sneaking around as much as you are! God Rose, you have been sneaking into Dimitri's room through his window? What if a different teacher happens to be looking out their window and sees you? You two are being reckless, and you are so blinded by your love for one another that you don't even realize it!"

His words angered me because I knew they were mainly true. "What am I supposed to do then?" I demanded. "Dimitri and I can't have it as easy as you and Lissa. God, it's like the end of the world for you that I am in here right now because it is preventing you from fully being with Lissa. Dimitri and I have to go through what you are feeling at this moment every single day!"

Christian shrugged his shoulders. "I know, it sucks. But you still have to be careful. Rose, you are going to graduate soon. All I'm saying is that you and Belikov should turn everything back a notch, and that you shouldn't continue putting yourself in easy to be caught situations."

I groaned. "I guess you are right."

Christian's eyes were filled with shock. "What did I just hear? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that, can you repeat yourself?"

I punched him in the arm. He flinched, but refused to admit that it had hurt a bit.

"So how was it?" Asked Lissa again, even more excited this time than she had been the first.

Christian groaned and sat back down, and turned up the TV in an attempt to drown out our conversation. It probably didn't work.

"Honestly, it was amazing. He is amazing, he is just so perfect for me Liss!" I exclaimed.

"I'm so happy for you Rose! All of these years, I have been just waiting for you to meet someone who could break down your tough and bitchy exterior that you like to put on, and see you as the person that you really are."

"Well, he definitely saw all there was to see of me," I replied mischievously.

Lissa laughed. "Tell me everything about it! How did it start? Did you guys take it slow or was it all fast and furious? What position did you guys do it in?" The questions continued spilling out of Lissa as she could not hold in her excitement.

"I do not need to hear the answer to any of those questions. Lissa, just text me when she finally decides to leave." Muttered Christian as he left.

As soon as he closed the door, I spilled everything to Lissa. We have always been really open with one another, and have always felt comfortable talking with one another about anything. Including sex.

"Well, it happened the night of our girls night. I was just overcome with this desire to see Dimitri, so I convinced Vika to cover for me so that I could spend the night with him. I went into his room through his window as normal, and we immediately started to make out." Lissa was listening very intently. "But then, he caught the taste and smell of alcohol on my breath. He almost stopped what he was doing, but I convinced him that I was sober enough to make the decision. And I really was sober enough. I hadn't had very much to drink that night in the end. Then, we started making out again, and we took it really slow, but it was really worth it. He is such an amazing lover."

Lissa continued looking at me expectantly. I knew what she wanted to know. "He was on top."

This still didn't satisfy Lissa. She is so freaking nosy sometimes. "And he gave me the best orgasm of my life."

That finally did it for Lissa. "Welcome to the big girl world Rose. Just wait until you guys start trying out new positions and stuff. It only gets better. When Christian and I-" I cut her off.

"For god knows what reason, you take interest in my sex life. That doesn't mean I need to hear about Christian." I muttered.

"You two are so weird around each other," She replied.

"I know," I told her.

We talked for another hour or so, and then Lissa insisted that she help me pack up for Russia when I told her that I hadn't even started yet. On the walk to my room, I sent Dimitri a quick text.

'Thanks comrade, you're the best! I should have listened to you and talked to Liss sooner. Can't wait for tomorrow. Love you. -R'

When we made it back to my room, Vika had her huge suitcase out on the ground and was just finishing packing.

"Rose, please don't tell me that you are going to just start packing now. I want to go to sleep soon." Complained Vika.

"Sorry," I told her. "We will be as quick as we can."

But it took a long time in the end. Lissa kept insisting that I needed to bring an outfit for every possible occasion. Meaning that we basically shoved my entire wardrobe into my suitcase. The funniest part was when Lissa insisted that I bring all of my sexy lingerie, forgetting about Vika temporarily.

"With all the time you and Dimitri are going to have together, you will need it." She had insisted.

"Please don't," Moaned Vika, and Lissa looked up apologetically.

It was a bit past midnight when Lissa headed back to her room, promising to say goodbye in the morning. We were going to have to be up bright and early to catch our 9:00 A.M. flight. With travel time to get to the airport, and needing to get to the airport early, Dimitri said that we should be leaving St. Vladimir's around 5:00 A.M. Lovely, I will be getting less than four hours of sleep in this case.

Whatever, nothing, including a lack of sleep can ruin my mood right now. I am going to Russia!

* * *

**Finally, it is holiday time! Review your thoughts on the chapter. Also, any interest in seeing Dimitri's POV at some point in the story? Or a POV specifically from a different character?**


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